The Missing Years
by Iama2p
Summary: As a prequel of sorts to The Lost Master, a series of one-shots that fills in the missing years between the end of Sinnoh and the storyline of The Lost Master.
1. Pallet Town

' _Ash Ketchum is out of Pokémon. Advancing to the final is Tobias! Ash Ketchum is out of the Sinnoh League.'_

Pikachu awoke as he felt himself get thrown across the room. Reacting quickly, he was able to stop himself crashing into the wall, using his tail to cushion his landing. He dropped to the floor glaring across the room, until he realized what was happening.

' _Despite taking out two of Tobias Pokémon, Ash Ketchum has failed to defeat his opponent.'_

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted at his trainer, who was thrashing around in his bed. The trainer who was completely ignoring his faithful starter.

' _Ash tried hard, but he was ultimately a failure.'_

"I'm not…" Ash muttered as his thrashing began to subside. "I'm no failure…"

Pikachu hopped up onto the table beside the desk, out of reach in case Ash started to lash out again. He gazed at his trainer closely, before peering at the clock beside him. 02:07. Ash had been asleep for less than an hour. The exhaustion was getting to both of them. Since Ash had lost, sleep had been hard to come by. Since he had gotten back two days earlier, it was even harder. Ash had managed less than three hours sleep since he had gotten home, and Pikachu was desperate for him to get some more.

' _Only defeating two Pokémon Ashy-Boy? I thought you were better than that. I guess you really are a failure.'_

Ash suddenly lashed out, and Pikachu ducked. The little Pokémonhad been half expecting it, and the fist flew over his head. Despite himself, his cheeks began to spark, preparing to shock Ash out of his nightmare. His trainer needed sleep, but he needed to wake up before he injured one of them.

" _Get away from me Ashy. I don't want to talk to failures like you."_

"I'm not a FAILURE!" Ash shouted as he jerked upright. "How DARE…" He stopped shouting as he looked down to see Pikachu's cheeks sparking. "I'm sorry buddy…" Ash said, his voice trailing off. "I woke you again didn't I?"

Pikachu nodded, before leaping onto Ash's shoulder and licking his face. Ash scratched the little mouse behind the ears, drawing a coo from him. "It's the nightmare again…" Ash said quietly as he scratched his Pokémon. "Driving our failure home."

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's lap before admonishing the trainer, poling him in the chest. "Pika, Pikachu, Pikapi, Pikachu, Pika."

Ash gazed at him, the exhaustion showing on his face. "Pikachu, we've been through this. We got two of them. After five years training, we got two of his Pokémon. That's pathetic."

"Pikachu! Pikachu, Pikachupi?"

"I think it is Pikachu." Ash said, before turning away. "And no, it wasn't Misty this time… It was Gary…"

"Pikachu?"

"Yeah. The same. Telling me that we failed."

"Pika…" Pikachu said sadly, before yawning loudly.

"What time is it?" Ash asked instantly, before turning to the clock. "Wow… Pikachu, you should try to get some sleep. You need it after Sinnoh."

Pikachu shook his head, before tapping Ash on the chest. The trainer smiled slightly. "Don't worry about me Pikachu. I'll try to get some as well."

Pikachu looked at Ash for a moment, before nodding and curling up on the bed once more. Ash lay down again, his thoughts swirling around in his head. The defeat that he had suffered at the hands of Tobias had hurt him more than any other. It hadn't felt bad, but then had started to creep into his mind. Into his dreams. It had wormed its way in, until he could barely sleep. He glanced at the clock. 02:17. It was going to be a long night.

"Pikac…CHUUU!" Ash was jerked out of bed as the attack hit him, stifling his shout of pain. Somehow his mother had managed to sleep through his nightmares thus far and he was determined that he not wake her up. Although with the noise she had slept through thus far he could probably do what he wanted. He hit the floor, grunting from the impact. Pikachu flicked a lamp on, and its weak glow illuminated the room, to show the small Pokémon peering down at his master nervously. Ash sat up, wincing from the pain. He glanced at the clock next to Pikachu. 03:01. He groaned. Pikachu leapt lightly from the table to his trainer, who caught him and held him close. The two of them lay together on the floor, holding each other tight, before Ash finally levered himself up.

"You need rest Pikachu." Ash said quietly, gazing down at his starter. "You can't keep doing this."

Pikachu said nothing, just gazed into Ash's eyes. Ash met the gaze, then his head fell. "Alright Pikachu. I won't force you."

Pikachu licked his trainer's cheek before crawling onto his shoulder. Ash reached for the door, then paused for a moment. Turned back to his desk, and grabbed a sheet of paper, scribbling on it. He crept out of his room, leaving the paper on the kitchen side as he snuck out of the house. As he left Pikachu glanced back at the paper, his gaze tinged almost with regret.

" _Mum,_

 _I've gone to the ranch to see my other Pokémon. I'll see you later today._

 _Ash"_

* * *

"Ash!"

Delia Ketchum stood, looking over the fields, looking for her son. When she had woken up, she had found his brief note, scribbled by a man in a hurry. She had smiled, and assumed she would see her son by lunchtime. After he didn't appear, she had assumed he had eaten at the lab. Yet hours later it was getting dark, and her son still hadn't appeared. She had called the lab, but Professor Oak hadn't seen him all day. She knew at that moment that something was wrong. Ash going to see his Pokémon for a day wasn't unusual, even if he rarely did it all day just after he got back. But not eating was worrying. And totally uncharacteristic for her son. She'd made one more phone call, before heading over to the lab. She had to find her son.

Professor Oak came up beside her. "No sign of him?"

"No…" Delia said quietly. "Samuel, where is he? Is he out there?"

Oak smiled. "Delia, if he's on my ranch, we will find him. Gary, do you have Umbreon?"

Delia spun to see Gary Oak strolling towards the doorway. He turned to his grandfather.

"Umbreon is already looking. He'll find Ashy-boy soon." Gary then turned to Delia. "Is he alright? He didn't seem so cut up about the defeat when it happened, but now it seems to be getting worse."

"I don't know…" Delia said. "I keep thinking I'm hearing noises from his room, but then nothing. And now he's been gone all day, leaving just a note. It's not like him."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Gary asked, drawing a surprised gaze from the two older people. "What? He may have been my rival, but he was also once my friend."

"It's probably best if you don't push it Gary." Delia said quietly. "I know you have good intentions, but something is very wrong. This is so unlike Ash… I don't think I've ever seen him so despondent…"

Before Gary could say anything else, there was a purr. All three of them glanced down to see Umbreon stood in front of them. In the near dark, the Pokémon was almost invisible.

"You've found him?" Gary asked. Umbreon nodded. Gary turned back to Delia. "Follow Umbreon. He'll take you to Ash then come back." Delia nodded, worry in her eyes as she turned away. As she followed Umbreon into the darkness, she heard Samuel Oak's voice behind her.

"Ash will be fine. It just takes a lot to get over a defeat like his."

* * *

Ash sat, his back against Snorlax' sleeping form, Pikachu and Bayleaf curled up alongside him. Many of his Pokémon were sleeping, having been up most of the night with him after he had reached the ranch. Not a single one of them believed that Ash had let them down, despite everything he continually protested. They had spent the day with him, comforting him and trying to make him sleep. Despite their best efforts, he remained awake, and couldn't face going home for another night of darkness. He heard a twig snap, and his head snapped around to see his mother walking into the clearing, hesitantly. She looked down at her son, concern written into her features.

"Ash?"

"Hi Mum." Ash said, his voice quiet.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just wanted to spend some time with my Pokémon."

"Have you eaten anything Ash?" Delia asked.

"Since when?" Her son responded, a slight grin on his face.

"All day?" Delia asked gently.

Ash shrugged. "I'm not really hungry."

Delia gazed, trying not to let the shock show. Ash was always hungry. "When are you coming home?" She asked.

Ash looked around before gently easing Pikachu off his lap. Quilava who was awake across the clearing sat up at the movement and Ash nodded. "Come on Quilava. You can stay the night at mine."

His mother watched him walk away from his sleeping Pokémon, before turning her attention to the path. As she took her gaze from her son, she didn't see the effect leaving his Pokémon had on him. Each step seemed to be heavier, as the well of comfort he had spent the entire day hiding in crept away from him.

* * *

" _You're a failure Ash. You've always been a failure. You've never won anything. Never achieved anything. After five years you could only beat two Pokémon. That's pathetic. I don't know why I thought I could learn anything from you."_

"No…" Ash muttered. "May, you don't think that."

" _Doesn't she? Why wouldn't she? I came second in my first ever Grand Festival, and narrowly lost. You made the last four before somebody put you out of your misery, and that was after five years."_

"Dawn?" Ash said, twisting about in his sleep. "No… Don't say that…"

" _A failure Ash. That's all you'll ever be. And to think I once liked you. Guess I dodged that bullet well enough. You'd never be worthy of me."_

Ash surged away from sleep, sitting bolt upright. The room lit instantly, as the flames on Quilava lit up. Ash stared at his Pokémon, trying to work out why he was in the room. Then it all came rushing back, and he fell back onto his pillow, groaning. A glance at the clock told him what he didn't want to know. He had been asleep for a mere forty minutes this time. He got up, knowing that to return to bed would be to return to the nightmares that held him. He moved across the room silently, Quilava padding along at his side. Ash looked at the photos on a shelf in his room. The first one was of his time in Kanto, with Misty and Brock. His closest friends, then and forever. The man that was like his older brother, and at times the father that he had never had. And Misty…

Misty, the girl who had only started following him because he had broken her bike. With the other girls who had followed him, they had at least wanted his help with something. May wanted his help getting places, and he had eventually ended up teaching her as they went. He had done similar with Dawn. Yet Misty… The one girl for whom it had been the other way around. Ash grinned slightly as he remembered the moment that he usually cringed about when he thought about it. The moment that he had sent out his Caterpie to fight a Pidgeotto. What she had shouted at him still stuck.

"Pidgeotto is a bird. Caterpie is a worm. Bird's eat worms Mr Pokémon Master!"

Ash put the picture back. He glanced along the rest of the photos. All of them with his friends. The same friends who were now tormenting him in dream form. Reminding him that he had let them all down. All he felt as he looked at them was a deep feeling of anger at himself. He knew none of them would ever say that he had let them down, none of them would ever think he had failed. But he felt differently. Five years of training, and he got two of his opponents Pokémon. He sighed, and turned away, striding to the window. Quilava nuzzled his leg, before looking back at the bed pointedly. Ash shook his head, before looking out into the darkness. Moments later, he was on his way out of the house, Quilava at his side. If he couldn't sleep, he would be with his Pokémon. Although this time he would be back at home before his mother awoke to find him gone.

* * *

Misty jogged into Pallet Town. She had moved fast to make the distance in such a short space of time. After Delia had called last night, saying that Ash was struggling she had left instantly. Her gym was shut, but that didn't matter. She had barely taken a day off for years. Her only true close friends were Ash and Brock and they were always away. So when Ash needed help, she could easily come to see him. Travelling through the night, with only a few hours break for sleep, she had hoped to make it to surprise Ash at breakfast. Her friend whom she had barely seen for years, barely spent time with in all that time. The boy she missed more than anything. She chuckled to herself. If you'd told her seven years ago that the boy she fished out of the river, the boy who had trashed her bike, whom she had followed around for three years, would have become her best friend, she would have laughed at them. Actually, she corrected herself, she would probably have smashed their head in with a mallet. She still might.

Misty reached the Ketchum residence and glanced down at her watch. Potentially banging on the door at 5am was a little early. And Ash would be in bed anyway. He would be sleeping for hours yet, if his past record of returning from months away was anything to go by. Misty sat down in the front garden and pulled a Pokéball from her pocket. She toyed with the idea of releasing her Pokémon, but eventually put it back on her belt. She lay down and let herself doze. While she was glad she had pushed herself so hard to get here, she didn't want to be exhausted when she saw Ash.

* * *

Ash moved through Pallet Town quietly, almost silent. He had spent the night training some of his Pokémon, who had seen his desperation and matched it. Others of them had been sleeping, but for the first time since he had come back to Pallet he felt a sense of belonging. Being with his Pokémon was something he loved. They were the family that had travelled with him for so long. As the night had worn on, a plan had formed in Ash's mind. How to ensure that his humiliation was never repeated. Somewhere he could sort himself out before he went to another region, or back to an old one. Time spent with his Pokémon in the way he had spent the night and he knew that they would be able to get stronger. But until he knew where he was going, he had to get home and ensure his mother didn't know about his insomnia.

The gate at the front of the house opened with a slight creak, which Ash ignored. Quilava was providing a slight glow, so he had no problems seeing where he was going. About halfway up the path he noticed Quilava had stopped moving. Ash turned to see something lying on the ground off the side of the path. Quilava was gazing at it, as it shifted. Then started to sit up.

"Quilava, give us some light." Ash said quietly. As the flames on the back of his Pokémon grew, Ash stared in shock at the figure who was staring straight back.

" _Misty?!"_

* * *

Delia Ketchum put more food on the table, watching her son eat. He wasn't eating with his normal gusto, it was more a mechanical process, but she was just pleased that he was eating. Across the table, Misty was chatting away to him, without getting much response. Not that she was expecting it, with Ash eating she was expecting him to be fully focused on his food. And she was only babbling to keep up appearances, Delia didn't know that Ash had been out in the morning, and Misty wasn't going to tell her. As Ash finished eating, he stood up and smiled at his mother.

"We're gonna head out Mum." Ash said. "I'll see you tonight for dinner?"

"Of course Ash." Delia said. "Just make sure your home tonight?"

Ash nodded as he left the room, leaving Misty to follow and Delia to stare after him. He seemed to have perked up since Misty had arrived, but she was trying to work out if it was an act. As the two left the house seemingly chatting away she decided she didn't care. As long as Ash ended up happy, that was the important thing. If Misty could stay for a few days, she hoped Ash would be back to normal.

"You should go back to Cerulean." Ash said. The two of them were sat on a hill overlooking Pallet Town, with a few of Ash's Pokémon lying around them. He had taken the Pokémon with him when he had left Professor Oak's ranch in the morning, but Pikachu had still been asleep, recovering from the days of no sleep.

Misty stared at him in shock. "I just travelled through the night to get here!" She burst out, eyes flashing dangerously. "You think I'm going to go straight back?"

Ash didn't answer, just turned his gaze away from Misty, staring out over his home town. Misty followed his eyes before turning back on him.

"Ash?" When there was no answer she raised her voice, her temper rising. "Ash Ketchum! I just travelled through the night to get here, the least you can do is actually talk to me properly!"

Ash stared at her. "Why did you come Misty?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly.

Misty met his gaze. "Your mother asked me to. She thought there was something wrong."

"And you agree with her?"

"Yes Ash I do. You were out in the middle of the night, something you clearly don't want your mother to know. You're trying to get rid of me, you've barely spoken to Professor Oak since you've gotten back and you've not even got Pikachu with you. Even from you, with your history of odd moments this is wrong."

Misty smiled, hoping that her attempt to lighten the mood could bring a laugh from Ash. All it got was a confused look.

"My history?" He shook his head. "Look Mist, I'm fine. I've been spending time with my Pokémon, some of them have barely seen me for years since I've been leaving them at home when I go to new regions. And Pikachu is with them, they are his friends as well."

"And you were out at night to spend more time with them?" Misty asked, not bothering to try to hide the doubt in her voice.

"Yes." Ash said. "I've found that I sleep better outside with my Pokémon. And I can't bring them home."

Misty stared. "And you don't want your mother to know?"

Ash hung his head. "How would she feel? How would you feel if your son didn't want to sleep in the same house as you?"

Misty nodded slowly. "So why are you trying to get rid of me Ash?" She asked. "Don't you want to see me?"

"I do want to see you Mist." Ash said. "But you've got responsibilities in Cerulean."

"And yet I'm here." She said with a smile. "Ready to bang some sense into you."

"Misty you can't abandon your Gym." Ash said seriously. "You've spent years of your life building that place up."

"And I've come her to see…" Mist started but Ash cut her off.

"Don't be stupid Misty." He said, then smiled slightly. "Feels weird me telling you that."

Misty laughed, a sound that was mirrored by Ash. "Go on then Mr Smartass." She said, grinning. "How am I being stupid?"

"Abandoning a gym to come see somebody who at the moment is completely free and could have come to you." Ash said in a rush. "Or didn't you think about that?"

"Didn't you say something about not wanting to upset your Mum?" Misty asked. "Wouldn't leaving to go to Cerulean do just that?"

"If she's willing to call you here, I think she'll be fine for me to go visit you." Ash said. "It will help persuade her that I am fine."

"Are you?" Misty asked, her voice suddenly serious.

Ash looked her in the eye. "Misty, I'm fine. I'm upset about losing in Sinnoh, but isn't that natural?"

Misty gazed at him. "Ash, do you blame yourself?"

He turned away slightly. "No."

Misty didn't say anything, just gazed at her friend, waiting for him to speak again.

"It's just hard you know?" Ash continued, his voice low. "All those years training, and we only get two of his Pokémon? It's just hard to take."

"Ash…" Misty said softly. "Don't. You were the only one to beat Darkrai, and you got Latios as well. That is an incredible achievement to take out not one, but two legendary Pokémon. You should be proud."

Ash turned back to look at her, not saying anything.

"You did us all proud." Misty continued. "You were the best at that tournament. And everybody knows it."

Ash nodded slightly. "Thanks Misty. I appreciate it. I should be fine in a few days, and I'll come visit you."

Misty stared at him. "Promise?"

Ash forced a smile onto his face. "If I'm still in Pallet in a few days, I'll come visit you, if it makes you feel better."

Misty smiled and gave him a quick hug. Ash grinned the familiar grin that Misty knew so well.

"Wow Mist, if I didn't know better I'd say you missed me."

Misty drew away and glared at the boy with his tongue stuck out. "Good think you know better Ketchum, because otherwise it might be painful."

Ash laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's fine Mist. I miss you too when I'm away."

Misty tried to stay angry but couldn't stop a grin spreading across her face. "Fine, you win Ash. I'll head back tonight to watch my gym. And you'd better come and visit."

* * *

Ash slipped inside his home once again. His mother wouldn't be up for at least another couple of hours, so he could get into his room, pretend he'd been there all night. After Misty had left the night before he hoped that he would have been able to sleep, but he hadn't. He'd slipped out again, but when he'd been training with his Pokémon he'd begun to feel tired. Making sure that he had an alarm set, he'd tried to get some sleep. And to his surprise, he had slept. For the first time since he had gotten home from Sinnoh. As he headed home once again, he knew what he had to do. The plan that had started to form the day before was taking flesh in his mind. He would go away for a few weeks to train, to improve his team, to become stronger. To wipe away the shame of his defeat. And when he came back he would prove that he was strong enough.

Ash reached his room and climbed into his bed, lying down, with Pikachu next to him. Neither of them intended to sleep. Having spoken to Ash about his plan, Pikachu had embraced the idea enthusiastically. The idea of a few weeks away with all of their friends, training to become stronger sounded like a dream for him. They planned to spend the day at home, and that evening broach the subject with his mother.

Delia had just started to walk out towards her garden when she heard the voice of her son.

"Mum, I'm leaving again." Ash said. Delia Ketchum turned around to look at her only son in surprise

"Where are you going this time?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." Ash answered. "I'm not going running off to a new region… After what happened in Sinnoh I want to get better. I'm going to leave to do some training."

Delia's face showed surprise at his words. This wasn't something she was expecting.

"Who will you travel with?" She asked.

"I'm not planning on travelling Mum." Ash said. "I'm going to find somewhere to settle. Get stronger. Then I'll start again."

"I see." Delia said. "When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow." Ash said. "Now I've decided I want to get to it as quickly as possible."

Ash turned away and left the room, Pikachu at his side, leaving his mother gazing after him. It would be nearly eight years until she would see him again.

 **A/N**

 **So I wanted to leave a little note here. This will not be on a regular update schedule, more will be filled in when the fancy takes me. It will be a series of snapshots from Ash's life between Sinnoh and before the Lost Master. I'll try to include some kind of calendar as we get further into those seven years. I have no idea how many of these I intend to write, but if there is a particular thing that happened and has been referenced in the Lost Master say and I'll fill it in. Most things I had a story for just never wrote it fully. And it will be a little different from the Lost Master at first, since he was a long way away from being the powerful trainer he comes back as. Just something a bit different. Should be fun!**

 **Iama2p**


	2. A New Home

"Nearly there buddy". Ash said as he climbed the hill. His jacket fluttered in a light breeze behind him while the backpack he carried at his side seemed heavier than usual, weighted down with the Pokéballs inside. Behind him Pikachu was panting as they walked. The little mouse was happy to be travelling but Ash seemed determined to walk until there was nowhere else to walk! Pikachu was quite happy not to have to worry about that, thank you very much. As Ash reached the top he turned and saw his Pokémon still climbing.

"Come on Pikachu! Ash called. "I think we've found it for now."

"Pika!" the little Pokémon shouted back before a burst of energy carried him up the hill. As he reached the top he tugged at his trainers trouser leg. Ash smiled down at Pikachu as he knelt down, giving the Pokémon a route to his shoulder.

"What do you think Pikachu?" Ash asked as he swung the bag onto his back. "Think this could be our home for a while?"

Pikachu looked around. It was not the most hospitable of places he had to concede. The hill behind them was covered in grass but the small plateau at the top seemed to be more rocky than lush. Down the other side of the hill was a river which Pikachu nodded at approvingly. At least they would have water here and hopefully not starve if they ate fish. On the far side of the river was a small wood, something that would be ideal for firewood. He focused more on the top of the hill. A collection of boulders provided a sheltered area, while its location would make it hard to sneak up on. As a place to escape for a while and train in isolation, Pikachu had to admit it was pretty good.

"Pika, Pikapi, Pikachu." Pikachu said nodding to Ash. Ash grinned back at his starter and made a beeline for the boulders.

"We need to get everybody else settled in buddy." Ash said as he took his backpack off. "And I'm gonna need your help."

"Pika?"

Ash grinned, energy filling him once more. "I can't do it all myself Pikachu. Do you want to gather firewood or collect some food?"

Pikachu seemed to consider for a moment before pointing at the river. Ash nodded.

"You sort out some food then, I'll go collect us some firewood. Just one thing first."

Ash reached down into his bag and pulled out a Pokéball. He released it, causing Swellow to appear.

"Swellow, I need you to keep an eye on the campsite." Ash said to his Pokémon. Swellow let out a squawk of acknowledgement. "Brilliant." Ash said. He pulled four more Pokéballs out of his bag and fixed them to his waist before leading Pikachu down the other side of the hill towards the river.

As they approached it Pikachu started to consider the best way to get some fish from it. He considered just firing electric shocks into the water but feared the Pokémon that might come and attack him. As Ash looked around for a way to cross the water Pikachu sat down, considering it. If his attacks might bring a Pokémon out, perhaps a Pokémon could help him. He turned and bounded back up the hill, heading for Ash's backpack.

"Pikachu, where are you going?" Ash called. Pikachu turned and gave his trainer a thumbs up sign before carrying on up the hill. He reached the bag and started searching through it until he found the Pokéball he was looking for. Pikachu released the Pokémon. Buizel appeared looking around.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, causing Buizel to focus on him. "Pikachu, Pika, Pikachu."

"Bui" Buizel responded nd turned, heading for the water. Pikachu followed. As they approached, they heard Ash's voice.

"Hey, good thinking Pikachu!" He called. "I think it is shallow down here, I'm going to try to argh!"

Pikachu and Buizel turned to look at where the yell had come from. They saw their trainer sat in the river, his head and torso sticking out from the surface. Two things were apparent from a quick glance at Ash. He was right; the part of the river he was in was indeed relatively shallow. However that had not stopped Ash from managing to fall into it.

"Bui..." Buizel said shaking his head as Ash clambered to his feet, a grin plastered on his face. Pikachu just shook his head in amusement. His trainer was many things - caring, kind, willing to put others first. What he was not was well-coordinated. It was typical of Ash to manage to fall into a river.

"I was right! It is shallow!" Ash called back, apparently ignoring the fact that he was now soaked. "I'll be right back guys."

As the Pokémon watched, Ash waded his way across the river which was below his knees now he was stood up properly. As he vanished into the forest, Buizel dived into the river. A few moments later Buizel reappeared with a fish in his paws. He placed it on the side of the river and looked up at Pikachu who sent a small shock into it. The fish flopped around for a few moments before stopping moving. Buizel grinned up at Pikachu and dived back underwater.

By the time Ash reappeared with an armful of branches of varying sizes, Pikachu and Buizel had managed to create a reasonable pile of fish. Ash called out to them as he approached the river. Pikachu waved back before shocking Buizel's latest catch.

Ash raised the wood above his head as he stepped across the river, managing to keep his balance. He dropped the wood on the bank before clambering out of the water. Scooping up his prize once more, he headed for Pikachu.

"Pika." Pikachu said as Buizel deposited yet another fish on the bank. Buizel nodded before leaping out of the river and shaking himself off on the bank. Droplets splattered all over Pikachu, making him cast an annoyed glance at Buizel. Buizel ignored him as he swept up several of the fish and headed towards Ash.

"Let's head back up guys." Ash said as they came closer. "We can build a fire and cook these." He looked down at the two Pokémon before shaking his head sheepishly. "I don't suppose either of you are any good at cooking fish?"

Pikachu just looked at his trainer with a weary smile on his face. It was true, Ash was not a great cook. He was however a fast learner. After a few disasters shortly after they left Pallet Town, his cooking had improved drastically. It was now at the point where he was unlikely to set fire to the fish, even if it was probable that they would be overcooked. Ash was still learning how to judge when they were cooked and as he often said "I'd rather it was burned than we got ill from not cooking it properly."

As they reached the top of the hill Swellow swept past them towards the bank. Pikachu turned to watch the Flying-Type sweep up the remaining fish and carry them back up the hill towards them. Buizel deposited his in a pile and Swellow added his own collection. Ash pulled a Pokéball off his belt and released Quilava.

"That time of day again Quilava." Ash said as he started assembling the firewood into two piles. He then turned one of the piles into a respectable attempt of the shape of a typical campfire. Quilava nodded and waited till Ash was clear before lighting the fire pile with a small burst of flame. Ash smiled back at his Pokémon before scratching him behind the ears. Quilava let out a purr of pleasure before he realised that Ash was still soaked. Flames erupted from Quilavas back, warming the area up. Ash looked down with gratitude.

"Thanks." Ash said before turning to the fish. He speared a few of them on a stick he chose from the non-flaming pile before quietly sitting and cooking them over the fire. Pikachu and Buizel leaned up against a boulder while Swellow settled on top. Peace fell over the campsite as Ash focused on cooking.

It was a while later, and two more trips to the river to secure enough food to feed everybody that Pikachu next leaned back, well fed. He had been right, the fish was burnt but after eating like this for nearly two weeks he was getting used to it. Pikachu was grateful that Ash had only brought one Tauros with him, feeding all thirty would have been extremely difficult. The sun was just going down as Ash opened his backpack once more.

"Hey buddy, I know it's early but we should probably get some rest."

"Pika?" Pikachu asked. Ash smiled down at him.

"I know. But tomorrow we have some work to do."

Pikachu yawned slightly as Ash took the now dry jacket off and folded it into a pillow. Pikachu stood up lightly and stepped towards his trainer who reached an arm out to bring him closer. Ash didn't lie down immediately though, sitting in his sleeping bag with his back against a boulder. Pikachu sat in Ash's arms as they watched the last remnants of the sunset.

"This could be a good place for us Pikachu." Ash said as he stroked his Pokémons fur. Pikachu shut his eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of being close to his best friend. "We will stay here and train for a while." Ash's voice took on a slightly dreamy tone. "I mean, there have been a few times where we have really trained properly. Done fitness, worked on attacks. We always do it when we lost to a gym leader so that we could beat them."

Pikachu yawned as Ash carried on talking, unsure if his trainer was talking to him or not. If he was, Pikachu supposed he should probably still be listening, but he was very comfortable. Listening was effort. If it was important, Ash could tell him again in the morning.

"That training always made us stronger." Ash said, continuing to think out loud. "Much stronger. So that is what we will do. We will turn ourselves into the team we know we have the potential to be."

Pikachu yawned again, snuggling closer against Ash's chest. If they were going to be working hard in the morning, maybe sleeping now wasn't such a bad idea.

"So in the morning we'll make this place a proper campsite." Ash said. "Take some time, collect some food so dinner doesn't take hours. And then we'll start training. Runs around here, battle training, everything. And then we'll go back."

Ash's voice lost focus as he let his thoughts wander out of his head.

"Maybe when we go back we will win a tournament. Take a step towards being Pokémon Master."

"Pika..." Pikachu said sleepily. Ash looked down at his Pokémon with a smile on his face.

"Sorry buddy." he said. "I've been droning on. Let's get some rest."

Ash shifted his body down until he was lying down, his head resting on the jacket pillow he had made himself. The hard ground wasn't the softest bed that Ash had ever slept on but in the two weeks since he had left home he had slept on worse. Pikachu crawled forwards until his head was sticking out the top of the sleeping bag.

"Just think Pikachu..." Ash murmured, sleep blurring his words. "In a few months maybe we'll be ready to go back. But tomorrow... Tomorrow is the first day of our futures."

 **A/N**

 **A nice quick story here. Some of these snapshots will be this length, some will be longer. Apologies if you wanted longer, but I will get there on this one. These are more fun writing rather than "A World Divided" which is being driven by the plot.**

 **Great to see a couple of requests in reviews. I have read them all (as always) and I can confirm that I have plans for all the requests thus far. So bear with me and the stories will come. Eventually!**

 **Iama2p**


	3. The First

Ash grunted with exertion as he pushed forwards, the ache in his legs getting worse. Around him his Pokémon ran forwards, keeping pace with their trainer. He glanced to the side to see Pikachu bounding along and smiled down at his friend. Pikachu grinned back for a moment before concentrating on the run.

It had been three months since Ash had left Pallet Town, and a few weeks since Ash had started to focus entirely on training. They had moved twice since they had found their first home, with them being driven away from the first area by a territorial group of Beedrill. Ash chuckled at the memory of them, surging out from the forest just a few days after they had set up camp. He wasn't sure he had ever run quite as fast as he had that day. Their second home was abandoned after a couple of weeks as they had struggled to find food there. But the third location was perfect. Ash jogged past the edge of the hill that they were running around and his home was spread out in front of him.

In the distance, a cliff rose high above them, an easy 80 foot climb to the top. A small waterfall surged out of a gap roughly halfway up, forming a pool at the bottom. Although it lacked fish, the pool was perfect for drinking water and bathing. Ash remembered the first time that his Pokémon had insisted he wash. After so long travelling he had forgotten how much he must stink, but Bayleaf had not. He had been unceremoniously dumped in the pool and held under until he agreed to wash himself properly.

While the pool couldn't provide food, it did lead out into a stream that could. If they followed the stream a couple of miles it merged with a much larger river where fishing became much simpler. And following it was easy – the stream meandered its way down the valley that Ash was now leading his Pokémon down. One side of the valley was rocky which had given them plenty of opportunity to practice agility while the other was heavily forested. Inside the forest grew yet more food that Ash was learning to work with. He had been grateful to his grass Pokémon for stopping him eating something poisonous but two months on he had learned. Now he only occasionally threatened to kill himself by eating. And with firewood so close at hand, staying warm at night was easy.

After they had settled, Ash had decided that they would stay for a few months at least, making the most of the chance to train in a remote area. Once he had made his sweeping declaration he set about building a rudimentary hut for himself to sleep in. His Pokémon had taken to the challenge enthusiastically but without any great aptitude for architecture and the first few attempts collapsed within a few hours. Each of Ash's Pokémon came up with designs of ever increasing complexity before Charizard had arrived. The Flame Pokémon had joined them a fortnight after they arrived. He had swept in and taken one look at the latest construction before incinerating it with a blast of fire. After that he had taken it upon himself to build a hut fit for his trainer. Nobody had wanted to admit it, but it had been the first one that had actually looked good, let alone survived more than four hours. Surprisingly, Charizard hadn't even bragged about his achievement.

Ash glanced across at Charizard who was puffing along, letting out small bursts of smoke as he strained to keep up. For a Pokémon who was so agile in the air, he hated running. But once he had heard what Ash was doing with his team, he knew that he had to come back. No Pokémon had thrown themselves into training more than the prideful powerhouse and the benefits were already clear as he moved towards the front of the running pack.

Ash plunged across the stream for the final time and charged up the bank on the other side. His Pokémon matched him still, forcing themselves onwards. As they reached the cliff they came to a halt and Ash looked around, a grin on his face.

"Climb."

He leapt at the wall in front of him, gripping the handholds that he was getting to know so well. As he reached the top he glanced down. Several of his Pokémon had beaten him, with the smug look on Sceptile's face telling Ash that Sceptile had won. To his surprise, Eevee bounded up just behind Ash, rubbing herself against his leg. Ash grinned down at his newest Pokémon who had taken to the training with a zeal. She had been with him just a few days and seemed determined to push herself as hard as she could.

Ash looked down at the final few Pokémon coming up the cliff and saw Torkoal haul himself over the edge, claws scrabbling on the stones. Torkoal limped away, looking upset as Ash looked around at the rest of his Pokémon.

"It is four miles back home." Ash said, pointing at the path which led to the valley once again. "Let's go."

The group set off once again, Ash setting the pace as they ran. Many of the group were tired but they kept going. Kept working, kept urging each other forwards.

It was some forty minutes later that they limped into the camp. Ash collapsed in a heap, with many of his Pokémon copying him. He allowed himself just a few moments before he struggled back to his feet.

"Come on guys." Ash said. "We need to start stretching. Then it is time to sort dinner."

There was a good natured groan from the Pokémon that made Ash laugh as they recovered and started working on sore muscles. Ash looked around at his Pokémon, pride in his expression. It was only when his gaze fell on Torkoal that his pride slipped.

The Coal Pokémon wasn't stretching. Instead he was sat down with tears running out of his eyes. Ash headed over and crouched next to him.

"What's wrong Torkoal?"

Torkoal let out a plaintive moan and nudged Ash's arm. Ash stroked his shell and spoke quietly to his Pokémon, but Torkoal was clearly not happy. He let his legs collapse underneath him with a tired moan. Ash sat down next to him and Torkoal rested his head on Ash's lap. After some time Torkoal withdrew into his shell, leaving Ash to climb up. Several of his other Pokémon had noticed, but none of them commented. Ash sighed and turned to prepare the food for his Pokémon, putting Torkoal to the back of his mind.

* * *

Ash awoke with a start and immediately groaned in pain. Everything hurt. His hand hurt from where he had managed to burn it while cooking the night before. His knee hurt from where he had crashed it against the cliff wall while climbing. Worst of all though, his legs were still sore from the run earlier. Ash lay in his sleeping bag for a moment longer, but he forced himself out of his hut when he heard movement outside. The majority of his Pokémon were asleep, the fires that they had made earlier were down to their embers. Ash saw a shadow moving out of the corner of his eye and started to move towards it. As he walked past Charizard Ash nudged the Flame Pokémon who woke up.

"Charizard, something is there." Ash whispered.

Charizard growled quietly and raised his tail. As the flame on the end grew bigger, the campsite was thrown into sharp relief. The shadow froze and Ash looked into the guilty face of Torkoal.

"Torkoal?" Ash asked in surprise. "Where are you going?"

Torkoal whined and shook his head starting to hurry away but Charizard was quicker. He leapt forwards, his wings cushioning his landing, blocking Torkoal's way out.

"Torkoal, what is going on?" Ash asked blankly.

Torkoal whined again and shot a burst of flames at Charizard who ignored them as he glared down at his teammate.

"Torkoal!" Ash shouted, surprise making his voice rise in both pitch and volume.

Torkoal looked at Ash and stomped closer to Charizard who was still blocking his passage.

"Torkoal…" Ash said, understanding dawning on him. "Are you leaving me?"

Torkoal nodded and nudged at Charizard who was unmoving.

"Why?" Ash asked.

Torkoal turned and looked at Ash. He with his head towards the Pokémon sleeping around them and then made a running motion. He shook his head.

"Torkoal." He said sadly.

"You don't want to train anymore?" Ash asked. Torkoal nodded. "But you don't have to leave."

Torkoal met Ash's eye and his trainer's heart fell.

"You want to." Ash concluded. Torkoal nodded as tears started to leak out once again.

"Why?" Ash asked again.

Torkoal didn't answer, instead turning away and charging at Charizard. The larger Pokémon knocked him back easily with a wing, looking at Ash for leadership. Torkoal landed on his feet before charging again immediately.

As Charizard knocked Torkoal back for the third time, Ash had had enough.

"Let him go Charizard."

Charizard looked at Ash in surprise before folding his wings back against his body. Ash knelt down in front of Torkoal who was now looking at his trainer.

"Wait here one moment." Ash said. He rose and headed back for his hut. Inside he started rifling through his things, mentally chastising himself for having his living space such a mess. A few minutes later he eventually found it and exited the hut again. Torkoal was waiting patiently for him while Charizard growled softly as Ash reappeared. Ash reached them and knelt down in front of Torkoal once again.

"This is yours." Ash said quietly, holding out a Pokéball. Torkoal looked at it before looking back up at Ash, tears flowing once again. Ash placed the Pokéball on the ground and stood up.

"I'm sorry you are leaving Torkoal." The young man was struggling to keep the emotion out of his voice as he talked. "But I wish you the best. You are always welcome back."

Torkoal nodded before looking down at the Pokéball. A burst of flame erupted from his mouth, scorching the ball. Damaging it. Weakening it. As Ash watched, Torkoal leapt up and slammed down on his Pokéball, shattering it. He turned and strode away from his now ex-trainers camp. Had Torkoal looked back he would have seen the hurt on Ash's face but he never did. He never saw Ash's expression as for the first time in his life a Pokémon walked away from him for no reason other than he didn't want to be his Pokémon anymore.

 **A/N**

 **I'm aware that this is shorter than my usual work but it was just an idea that I ran with to its conclusion. Torkoal was the first to leave and I wanted that covered in a bit more detail. I've released it with The Worst Goodbye since they are so closely linked. A bit more of an authors note is at the end of the next chapter.**

 **Iama2p**


	4. The Worst Goodbye

Ash stood completely still, ignoring the cramping in his muscles. He stood watching looking over his Pokémon as they came in to end their run. As the stragglers came in, led by Pikachu Ash sighed. He knew that he would need to keep moving. He couldn't stay still, couldn't stay in one place for a long length of time. Yet if he moved on from his current camp, the friends that had left him would never find him again. Torkoal, the pre-cursor to a flood of fleeing Pokémon, had never come back. Ash had not thought twice before letting his friend leave, but now he was questioning himself. Torkoal didn't want to be forced into the intense training, but as others saw they could leave, they had followed. Kingler had been the second, the euphoria of being back with Ash having long worn off. He had gone just a few days after Torkoal. A week later it had been Glalie and Donphan, leaving together.

Ash had slackened off the intensity of the training and for a fortnight he hadn't lost any more. It was still the toughest training that any of the Pokémon had ever done, but he had thought he had brought it down to something that all of the Pokémon could handle. That was until Noctowl left, with Torterra following the following day. After Torterra Ash had withdrawn into himself for a full day, snapping whenever a Pokémon tried to reach out to him. He had come back to them, but all of them could see how hard it had been on him. And if he left where they had been for the past six weeks, each of the Pokémon that had left wouldn't be able to return. They wouldn't be able to find him again and they would truly be lost.

Ash moved forwards, ignoring his protesting muscles as he strode towards Pikachu. Ash's starter had been the only one who had been able to stay close to him throughout the departures, always able to bring a smile to his trainers face.

"Pikachu!" Ash called as he approached the final group.

Pikachu glanced up and turned away when he saw Ash approaching. Pikachu muttered something to Muk who looked just as exhausted as the rest of the group, before moving away. Ash froze as his first Pokémon pointedly avoided him before turning away, head bowed. He returned to his position, looking out over the whole group of Pokémon.

"We'll leave tomorrow." Ash murmured to himself. "I'll talk to Pikachu on the journey. I'm sure he's just tired."

Ash blinked and snapped back out of his reverie to see his Pokémon lining up in front of him, slowly but surely preparing themselves for the next bit of training. Ash smiled, hiding his frustration behind the expression.

"Time to carry on." Ash said, before leading his Pokémon on once again.

* * *

Ash was sat meditating as his Pokémon rested around him. Many of them were eating, trying to recover after the intensity of their days work. The sun drifted across the afternoon sky lazily, basking the entire clearing in a warm glow. Ash heard movement around him, disturbing the silence and his eyes snapped open. Pikachu was stood in front of him, a sorrowful expression on his face.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked, slightly confused. Behind the little mouse he could see a bowl of food, untouched. A bowl that he recognized as his starters. "What is wrong?"

Pikachu seemed to hesitate, before speaking.

"Pika. Pikachu, Pika, Pika. Pikachu Pikapi."

Ash looked down at his oldest friend as Pikachu started to wave his arms around. He let his Pokémon talk, not wanting to interrupt. As Pikachu spoke though, a sinking feeling spread through Ash, starting in his stomach. He felt a crippling fear grip him, to the point where he couldn't interrupt Pikachu even if he wanted to. Eventually, Ash's hand came up almost of its own accord.

"You want to leave."

Pikachu nodded sadly, before bowing his head. There was a long silence between them as tears ran down Ash's face, mirrored by the ones on Pikachu's.

"Please." Ash said softly. "Please don't leave me. I need you Pikachu."

Pikachu looked up at his former trainer. He didn't say anything but he didn't have to. After so long, Ash knew what the expression meant. Pikachu had made his mind up.

"I'm sorry Pikachu." Ash said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I… I'm sorry that I have pushed you so hard."

Pikachu didn't say anything as Ash climbed to his feet and strode away, muffling the sobs that were escaping him as he disappeared away from the camp. The small Pokémon turned around to see the entire group of Pokémon staring at him. Pikachu ignored their gazes as he moved to his bowl of food and started to pick at it. As he hunched over the bowl, he felt the eyes on his back return to their own bowls, but he barely ate. It was hard to see his food through his tears.

* * *

Ash stood at the edge of the forest, looking out over the valley. In the distance he could see his Pokémon resting. He knew that he had pushed them hard but he thought that they had been in it for the long run like he was. Now he wasn't so sure

"I've done everything they've done." Ash said, mostly to himself as the anger rose in him. "I've pushed myself just as hard and I'm still going. Why are they all running away?"

He slammed a fist into the tress and growled in pain as the bark bit into his knuckles. He looked at his hand and saw small drops of blood welling where the tree had cut into it. After a long moment Ash let out a humourless laugh.

"Great. Just great."

He lapsed into silence for another long minute, his eyes once again fixed on the sight of his camp, more than half a mile away.

"How many more are going to leave?" Ash asked the trees around him. "How much longer do I have to endure watching my friends leave me behind?"

The whistling of the wind in the trees was his only answer, unsatisfactory compared to what he was seeking. For the first time Ash considered the possibility of going back. Of taking Pikachu home and giving up. Unbidden, Gary's face rose up in his mind.

"Welcome back Ashy-boy."

In Ash's mind the face began to twist, glaring at him.

"In truth I thought you'd last longer. Guess you're still as pathetic as ever."

"Get OUT OF MY HEAD!" Ash roared, the sound being swallowed by the density of the forest. He glared around at the trees accusingly, but all they did was sway in the wind back. As Gary's face faded it was replaced by Brock. Then May. Then Dawn, then Professor Oak. Each of them wearing a look of disappointment to see him back having trained so little.

Ash gripped his head with his hands, the mocking laughter of his friends echoing around his skull.

"Leave me alone!" Ash cried, trying to find an escape from the mental onslaught. They vanished, leaving him looking around the clearing. He blinked in shock as a red-headed figure appeared around a tree, staring at him. Pitying him. The worst face of all. The dream-face that drove him away from Pallet Town was back.

"Misty." Ash gasped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Misty said her voice kind. "You were never cut out for this. You were never cut out to become Pokémon Master."

Ash recoiled. "Don't say that." He snapped.

"Why?" Misty asked, the pity sliding off her face to be replaced by a sneer. "You've driven all your Pokémon away. None of them will follow you anymore Mr Pokémon Master. Face it, you're a failure."

"I'm NOT!" Ash roared, stepping forwards. His fist swung towards Misty who vanished as Ash approached, his swing carrying him into a tree. Ash swore loudly at the pain before turning and glaring back at his campsite. His mind was wrong. His Pokémon were loyal. If he asked them to follow him, they would. But he couldn't let them drift away from him like they were. Ash had reached his breaking point. Either his Pokémon, his friends were with him, or they weren't. But he couldn't face losing them in ones and twos anymore. It was decision time.

* * *

Charizard looked up at Ash swept into the camp once again. Instantly Charizard knew something was wrong. A darkness surrounded his trainer, something that Charizard couldn't ever remember seeing. A darkness that was confirmed as Ash looked up, his once vibrant eyes turned dark. For the first time in his memory, a sliver of fear wormed its way into Charizards heart. Charizard owed his life to Ash, from when Ash had found him back when he was a Charmander, to when Ash had helped defrost him in the Orange Islands. It was a debt that was years old, but the prideful Pokémon had not forgotten it. For a man who put himself in danger as often as Ash did, it had been remarkably hard to repay the debt, but Charizard now knew how he would do it. Whatever had happened to Ash, Charizard would save him. He would stand by his trainer through thick and thin, until he found out what had happened. What had taken the life from his trainer and his friend. From the first human to treat him with genuine kindness. Something had broken inside of Ash and Charizard would not rest until he found out what.

"Pikachu wants to leave."

Charizards head snapped around to look at Ash in shock before his gaze focused on the little electric type. Every other muscle was frozen as his trainer talked.

"He feels the training is too tough for him, and knowing it will only get harder, he doesn't want to stay and endure it. He, like the others has decided to leave."

Ash took a deep breath and sighed. Charizards eyes narrowed as he looked down at his trainer. Ash looked every bit a broken man.

"Now, when we first got here I stood here and told you what we were doing. As a team you all agreed. It has been four months since we started here. Since we got here I have committed myself to training both myself and you. Some of you think I have lost my younger self, am more reserved, am colder."

Charizard was completely focused on his trainer now, sharp eyes picking up the slumped shoulders and the deep breath before Ash spoke again, his voice cracking.

"To you I say remember our defeat. We knocked out two of his Pokémon. Five years training made a mockery of. That is why I came out here to train, to get stronger."

Charizard felt a twinge of pride in the way Ash spoke. Ash was right, they had come here to get stronger. And they were. Charizard could feel the benefits of the training. He was quicker, stronger and more agile than he had ever been in his life. Even his trainer was showing the effects of the training, finally putting on muscle. Charizard felt himself nodding along at his trainer's words but when he glanced around he found he was the only one. Nobody else seemed to be agreeing with him, agreeing that the training was good.

"However, I will ask you the same question I did at the start. You have seen what you're going to go through. I will be with you every step of the way, but if for any reason you feel unable to complete this, please step forward now. I will permit you to leave."

Now the Pokémon around Charizard were nodding, and Charizard felt a rage begin to burn within him, an anger hotter than he had ever felt before. Ash had given them everything. He had brought Pokémon that had no home together and given them a family. Throughout his life his Pokémon were more important than his own wellbeing. And now that they were being given an out, they were abandoning their friend.

"However, if you stay I want this to be a commitment that you will be with me to the end. Take your town, make this decision. If you leave, I will not remember that you left."

'But I will'. Charizard said, his mind already made up. When he had gotten the message that Ash had left to train he had pushed himself to reach his trainer. He had found himself one of the strongest Charizard at Charicific Valley, but Ash had always helped him reach a new level. Ash was still helping him reach a new level. There was no way he would walk away now.

Ash's voice was muffled by suppressed tears as he forced out his final words, determined not to break down in front of his Pokémon.

"If you leave, I will not remember that you left." Ash said. "I will remember all the work you've done in the last five years, and I _will_ remember you."

To Charizard's surprise Ash turned and walked away. He sat down, facing away from his Pokémon and started meditating. Charizard didn't need to see his face to know that the tears were once again running down it.

The Flame Pokémon turned his attention to his teammates who were looking at each other in amazement. Charizard growled his anger, causing those nearest to him to back away carefully. As he stomped away in a fury Charizard didn't notice how the flame on his tail had grown, his anger obvious for anybody who looked at him.

* * *

Ash stood on the hill that overlooked his camp as he watched his Pokémon line up in front of him. Pikachu made to step forwards but then seemed to think better of it. The Mouse Pokémon couldn't face another goodbye. Instead he turned and moved away, followed by the majority of Ash's Pokémon. As Ash watched, the tears fell once again but he made no attempt to hide them. Behind him he felt a wing extend, gently touching him. He glanced up to see Charizard looking down at him with understanding on his face. On his other side Sceptile put a paw out, touching his trainers arm. Bayleaf wrapped her vines around him as she joined the hug. At his feet sat his little Eevee, his newest team member. It had surprised Ash when she showed loyalty beyond the majority of his Pokémon. She looked up at him and he met her gaze, his expression one of thanks.

Suddenly she started to glow white. Ash dropped to his knees in front of her, his eyes shut against the bright light. As the light faded Eevee was gone, replaced by a larger Pokémon, covered in velvety fur. Gingerly Ash reached out and stroked her as she looked up into his face, a fearsome determination shown there as her forked tail flicked.

"Espeon."

Ash saw his own shocked face reflected back at himself in the gem on Espeon's forehead. For the first time he saw the blackness that had consumed both of his eyes, all life gone. Ash rose back to his feet to watch his Pokémon vanish into the forest. As the final ones disappeared he felt some of the darkness that had been consuming fade, a surge of power coming through his body instead. He glanced back down at Espeon who hadn't taken her gaze from his. In the gem he now saw one of his eyes full of colour again.

"What the…" Ash muttered. "What just happened?"

"Es?"

"I… I don't know Espeon." Ash said before turning towards his now extremely limited number of Pokémon. After five years the only ones that stood by him were Bayleaf, Charizard and Sceptile and his newest, his newly evolved Espeon. Ash shook his head.

"Thank you." He said sincerely. "I… I don't know how to thank you for staying. You guys are…" Ash broke down again, the words refusing to come out of his throat. Ash coughed forcefully, clearing his throat so he could talk again.

"Four of you." He mused. "We will continue to train, continue to improve. And eventually we will rebuild our team."

"Scep. Sceptile, tile."

"Huh?" Ash asked, before following the outstretched arm of Sceptile who was pointing back into the valley. In the shock of Espeon evolving, Ash had somehow managed to miss that one Pokémon had not followed Pikachu.

"Snorlax?" Ash asked in amazement. "Snorlax stayed?"

All his Pokémon could do was shrug, so Ash led them down the hill once again, moving back into the camp that had been his home.

"Snorlax?" Ash called.

The huge Pokémon turned and looked down at Ash who despite himself found himself smiling slightly. In either hand Snorlax had a bowl full of food, clearly claimed from those that had been left behind by the departees.

"Snorlax, you can leave if you want." Ash said sadly. "The rest did. I don't expect you to stay if you don't want to train."

Snorlax looked down at Ash before shrugging and turning back towards his food. Ash stared in disbelief.

"You want to stay?"

Snorlax looked back at his trainer and nodded.

"I… Thank you." Ash said sincerely. "I can't pretend to understand you Snorlax but thank you."

Snorlax nodded again before rubbing his stomach.

"You want food?" Ash asked, the incredulity creeping back in. When Snorlax nodded once again, Ash felt some confidence come back into him, confidence that had been heavily shaken by the departures.

"Then food you shall have." Ash declared. "I will feed you as much as you can eat, and once you're done we will train so you get hungry enough to eat again."

Snorlax looked down at his few remaining teammates with such a look of delight that Sceptile started to chuckle. For a long moment nobody else reacted before Ash stepped forwards and wrapped his hands around as much of Snorlax as he could reach. The Sleeping Pokémon looked shocked but put his food down for a moment to return the gesture, gingerly putting his arms around his trainer. When he let go, Ash turned back to his Pokémon, a new resolve evident in his one good eye.

"We _will_ be the best in the world." Ash announced. "We will continue our training and become the strongest. Who's with me?!"

The answering roar was music to the ears of the battered, heartbroken trainer from Pallet Town. The Pokémon that stayed with him were as close as they could possibly be. And Ash would be proud to train alongside them.

 **A/N**

 **So that is the Day of Departure in a reasonable amount of detail. Also, since I didn't really put a note at the end of the previous chapter this doubles for that one too.**

 **Firstly, I'm slowly gearing up my writing once again. The final part of the main trilogy is still due to come in 2018, but I'm using the interim to write a few more things in here. I've not done as much as I wanted here so hopefully I can get some creativity flowing while I prepare for another major story. I've still got a list of all the things requested in reviews, but if anybody has anything to add, please let me know.**

 **Secondly, this chapter itself. Ash has been taken down to the absolute depths (Kind of makes me feel slightly sadistic when I wrote it) but at least we all know he eventually recovers. And while it might look like he has recovered already, he has not. The next chapter will be set just a few days into the future and Ash will still be feeling the effects of practically his entire team walking off. After a couple like that we should be moving further forwards. I hope to get a few more chapters into this story by the end of the year, probably looking at one every couple of weeks or so.**

 **That should be the lot from me for now. Until I get the desire to torment our protagonist further!**

 **Iama2p**


	5. The Long Road Back

Ash climbed out of his makeshift hut, rubbing at his eyes in the light given off by the rising sun. He had barely slept in the last week. It had been impossible for him to rest, ever since Pikachu had left, taking almost his entire team with him. Ash looked around at the remains of his campsite and sighed. His dreams of a grand adventure, training to make his team as strong as possible lay in tatters. Around him, his Pokémon continued to rest. Since the departures they had pushed themselves even harder, working to impress their trainer. Fighting to make him proud and to show him that they would do anything for him. It had led to some interesting results.

As usual, as the sun rose high enough in the sky, it gleamed off what had once been a rocks bank that led up to the hill. They had used to use it for agility training, but Charizard had put paid to that. In the days after the departures, he had thrown himself into training more than ever. His attacks had gained a new ferocity, driven by his anger at those who had abandoned Ash. Charizard had subjected the rocky hill to an onslaught like none of them had ever seen. By the end of the first day many of the rocks had melted, forming streaks across the hill. The heat they gave off had meant that Ash didn't need his sleeping bag that evening. After two days the entire hill had melted and Charizard had reached the layers of smaller elements below. By the third day, under the intense heat and power of Charizard's attacks, many of these smaller particles had crystallized. Eventually, Ash had to stop Charizard from attacking as the heat had caused fires to break out around the campsite. After the rocks had cooled, the ones that had been subjected to the worst of the onslaught reflected the sun off their gleaming faces. It had created an incredible early morning sight, albeit unintentionally.

On the other side of the campsite, Sceptile and Bayleaf had decimated the forest as they practiced their own attacks. Snorlax had contributed to both sides, his weight adding to the pressure on the rocks with Charizard while he had spent hour's weight lifting with the largest trees he could find. Only Espeon, the newest and quietest member of the group hadn't destroyed anything in her training. Instead she had been honing her new psychic abilities in trying to protect the campsite from the worst that her teammates had caused. Success had initially been limited, but now Ash was stood in a relatively cool patch of air despite the fact that the hill to one side was still glowing in places from residual heat.

The evenings had been the worst for Ash. During the day he pushed himself to complete exhaustion, exercising alongside his Pokémon and helping them to build their strength. He had even sparred with Sceptile, although the Forest Pokémon was far quicker and more agile than his trainer. In the evenings however, as his Pokémon rested Ash had nothing to distract him. His mind wandered back towards his departed friends, the family that had decided they no longer wanted to stay with him. His old nightmares had come back with a vengeance as well, but this time there was no Pikachu to help him. Two nights ago Ash had thrashed himself awake to find Bayleaf and Espeon stood over him. Outside his hut, Charizard, Snorlax and Sceptile had all waited to make sure that their trainer was awake. To make sure that he would not fall into the crippling depression that they all feared. Ash had been touched when he found them all watching over him, and had dragged his sleeping mat outside to be with them. He had then had a full four uninterrupted hours of sleep. It was the best he had slept in the entire week.

A mewing noise came from below him and Ash glanced down to see Espeon arching her back as she brushed against his leg. He smiled down at her before kneeling to scratch behind her ears. A low purring of contentment came from her throat as she closed her eyes to enjoy the petting.

"We should leave today." Ash said quietly.

Espeon opened her eyes to look at him with a pointed glance. Her message, although he couldn't understand her, was clear. He had said that every day since the departures, and yet they were still here.

"I know." Ash murmured, more speaking to himself than his Pokémon. "I've said it before. But it is true. We should leave. Just… if we do leave… they'll never find us again."

Ash's voice trailed off as Espeon flicked him with her tail. He chuckled slightly, a humourless sound but he recognized the flick for what it was. It was her way of showing affection, however irritating a tail to the face might be for him.

A low growling noise came from behind Ash, causing him to look around. Charizard had woken up and promptly woken up everybody else as well. Ash chuckled slightly as Snorlax glared at his teammate before rising to the food pile for his breakfast. Ash had been amazed at the sheer volume of food that Snorlax was now consuming. Already the largest eater on the team, Snorlax's appetite had come on to a whole new level. Ash could only guess that the extra training and the reduced sleep time made his Pokémon hungrier. It took the rest of them a long time in the evening to ensure that there was sufficient food for the whole group. Initially, it had been relatively easy as they still consumed less as a group than before the departures. Yet once they had devastated the local area with their training they found themselves travelling further and further to find food. Another reason that they needed to move on.

Bayleaf nudged Ash gently before wrapping a vine around his shoulders. Ash smiled back at her slightly before turning away again. As he came to a decision, he raised his voice to address all of his Pokémon.

"We leave today." Ash said. "Collect anything we can take with us. We'll leave in an hour."

An hour later Ash's few remaining Pokémon stood around him. He had given them each the chance to travel in Pokéballs, but none had even entertained the idea. They didn't want to leave their trainer alone for even a second.

"Leaf?" Bayleaf asked, nudging Ash. He sighed.

"I don't know." He glanced at his Pokémon who were waiting for him to set a direction. He looked back longingly at the campsite.

"Maybe we should wait here a few more days?" Ash suggested tentatively. "See if any of them come back?"

There was a growl as Charizard leapt, flapping his wings once. The Flame Pokémon twisted in mid-air, landing in front of his trainer. Ash blinked in surprise as his Pokémon glared down at him.

"Err, Charizard?" Ash asked uncertainly.

Charizard let out a deafening roar that nearly knocked Ash over with its ferocity. As Ash stumbled back, Charizard continued to speak, his usual angry snarl even more exaggerated by his anger.

Ash watched his Pokémon growl and gesture furiously at the parts of the campsite left behind. The parts that reflected the Pokémon that had left. Ash had left as much behind as he could. Food bowls, favoured blankets and even some smashed Pokéballs had been left behind. He had tried to pack some of them up, but it had been too difficult.

"Charizard?" Ash asked again as his Pokémon finally fell silent. "You know I don't understand you right?"

Charizard just sighed and turned to Bayleaf with a shrug. Ash glanced at Bayleaf who gently extended a vine and pushed Ash to turn away from his campsite. Another gentle push sent him on his way but after a mere two steps he stopped and turned around.

"I had guessed that Charizard wanted to leave." Ash said heavily. "But if they come back…"

Another echoing roar caused Ash to look into the face of Charizard once more. The Flame Pokémon's fury was obvious, stoked by Ash mentioning the departed.

"They are still our friends…" Ash tried again, but Charizard drowned his words out once again with another furious roar.

"Okay!" Ash shouted, his patience running out. "I get it alright Charizard? You're angry. You don't forgive them. But they were our friends."

Charizard looked down at Ash with a facial expression which was easy to read. Our friends they might have been, Charizard's face was saying, but they are not anymore.

Ash turned and looked down the valley, away from the campsite that had become his home. An idea came into his head, something that he hadn't considered before.

"We've been gone a while now." Ash said slowly. His Pokémon who had been looking at each other, trying to find a way to convey ideas to their trainer were drawn back to him. "We could go home."

There was a moments silence as Ash's words sank in to his Pokémon. They looked at each other uncertainly, something that Ash didn't fail to pick up.

"I'm not saying we should stay." Ash said, his voice gaining in confidence. "But we've not been home for months. We could go back, spend a few days and develop a better plan."

Bayleaf nodded slowly as she considered it. Perhaps a few days recovery would be everything that her trainer needed to recover his drive.

"We could visit Misty." Ash said, enthusiasm now in his voice as ideas spilled out. "I promised I'd go and see her if I was still in Pallet."

Espeon nuzzled Ash's leg and he glanced down at his newest Pokémon.

"You could see where I grew up Espeon." Ash said. "And Pikachu might be back. He might have gone home. We can talk to him. We'll find a way to make it work with him."

Ash started walking, leaving his Pokémon to follow him. "Pallet Town it is. I think I know the way there." Sceptile and Bayleaf exchanged a look at that. Ash's navigational skills were famous for their ineptitude. "Let's go guys."

And with more energy than he had shown since Pikachu left, Ash heaved his backpack and headed down the valley, leaving his slightly bemused Pokémon to follow him.

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

"Sceptile, Leaf Storm!" Ash barked. Sceptile sent a massive torrent of leaves into the sky, forcing the incoming Flying-Pokémon to scatter or get knocked out of the sky. Ash rubbed his eyes slightly as he assessed the situation.

It was early morning, the sun only just beginning to peak over the horizon. Ash had worked his Pokémon hard over the last two weeks as they travelled towards what he hoped was Pallet Town. He had tried to retrace their steps from several weeks earlier to find his earlier campsites. Once he got to his first ever one, he was confident that he could find his way back. Getting there was trickier. He had camped out the night before but apparently done so near a territorial flock of bird Pokémon. They had attacked at first light, the only warning being Snorlax waking up and stomping to sound the alarm. It wasn't the first time that the Sleeping Pokémon's ability to sense danger had come in useful. Now they were fighting against a much larger group of opponents. What their attackers had not accounted for was the power of Ash's Pokémon. The training had made a significant difference, with attacks being much larger and longer lasting.

A group of Pidgeotto circled and started to dive bomb towards Charizard, accelerating fast. Ash saw them coming out of the corner of his eye and called a command to his Pokémon.

"Wait for it Charizard, don't give them a chance to dodge. Wait for it… Now!"

Charizard fired a massive torrent of fire straight into the incoming group of Pokémon. Several of the Pokémon were caught by it, sending them spiralling towards the ground and the rest turned away, trying to escape the power of the attack.

A moment later, a large Pokémon appeared high in the sky. Ash gestured for his Pokémon to stop attacking as the flock retreated, leaving him to focus on the Staraptor descending towards him. As they approached Ash stepped forwards, slightly ahead of his Pokémon. The Staraptor landed gracefully before picking its way towards him. As it came closer Ash gulped slightly. It was a very large Pokémon and he could feel its power as he looked at it.

Ash opened his mouth but Staraptor squawked loudly and flapped his wings once, sending the Pallet native sprawling. As Ash slowly recovered to his feet he saw the angry Pokémon glaring down at him.

"I… err…" Ash stammered before his voice gained in confidence. "Staraptor, what is wrong?"

Staraptor looked around at Ash's Pokémon before flashing a wing at Charizard. Ash's most powerful Pokémon was sent flying, crashing to the ground and taking a long time to get back up.

"Charizard!" Ash shouted, ignoring Staraptor as he sprinted for his Pokémon's side. "Charizard, are you okay?"

Charizard slowly staggered back to his feet before dropping a knee once again. Only with a huge effort of will did Charizard stand tall once again as Staraptor glared down at him. As Staraptor leapt forwards, Ash jumped in front of his battered Pokémon, arms spread wide.

"No!" he shouted at the oncoming Predator Pokémon. Staraptor smashed straight into Ash, sending him flying, but didn't follow through onto Charizard. Ash skidded along the ground, forced himself back to his feet. Blood oozed from cuts after such a powerful impact, but Ash charged forwards, again standing in front of Charizard. All of his Pokémon positioned themselves behind him, protecting their friend as they stared down a much more powerful opponent.

Staraptor cocked his head slightly as he looked down at the stubborn group, before letting out a confused squawk. He raised his wings behind him and a whole flock of Flying-Pokémon raised themselves into the sky, ready to attack.

Staraptor hesitated, considering the stubborn human in front of him that was resolutely guarding his Pokémon. He saw how the other Pokémon were defending their battered friend and came to a decision.

"Raptor. Starap."

The two loud squawks caused the flock of Pokémon behind Staraptor to dissipate, vanishing into the distance. Staraptor turned to Bayleaf who was glaring up at him.

"Staraptor. Star."

Staraptor looked at Ash and held up a wing, two feathers sticking out. He then gestured to the distance with his wing and waited.

"You want us to leave?" Ash asked. "I can't, I need to look after Charizard."

Staraptor stomped his taloned foot impatiently. Bayleaf turned to Ash and nudged him.

"We can't…" Ash started, before Bayleaf nudged him again. "Wait, you're going to let us stay?"

Staraptor held his wing up again, two feathers sticking out once more.

"Two… Two days?" Ash asked.

Staraptor nodded before flapping his wings hard. The air whipped underneath him as he shot into the sky at rapid speed and Ash watched him vanish with a look of awe on his face.

"We'll get that strong one day." He murmured, almost to himself before turning towards Charizard. "Are you okay?"

The Flame Pokémon roared, a quieter sound than usual but still defiant. Ash smiled slightly. "I think I know how strong we want to aim to be. One day we'll beat him Charizard. That is a promise."

* * *

Ash climbed up the hill, looking around. Bayleaf trudged alongside him before she let out a cry of relief. It was a grassy hill but the top was distinctive. A collection of boulders provided shelter at the top and a shallow river separated the hill from a wood. Bayleaf recognized the area well as they reached the top, and she cast a wary glance towards the distance where the Beedrill had come from last time they were here.

Ash glanced at his Pokémon.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked. "This isn't it."

Bayleaf stared at her trainer in disbelief. She extended a vine and gestured to the river and Ash took a closer look.

"Hang on… You might be right."

Bayleaf gave him a look that plainly told him what she thought of the 'might' in that sentence.

"Then we'll rest here tonight." Ash said. "And tomorrow we will head back to Pallet.

"Leaf?" Bayleaf asked.

"Yes." Ash said instantly. He knew what Bayleaf was asking. She had become ever more concerned for his well-being as he had focused completely on returning home. It was all that he talked about when they were walking, all he thought about when they were training. Ash had managed to convince himself that if he could just get back to Pallet Town, everything would be fine. He would be able to recover from the disaster of being abandoned by his Pokémon. It had taken over everything in his life. Bayleaf was only holding back her full concerns because it seemed to have stopped Ash's nightmares. He at least seemed to be sleeping.

"It will all be fine when we get home." Ash said for what felt like the millionth time to Bayleaf. She nodded and nudged him gently with her head. Ash smiled and scratched her neck, drawing a happy noise from her.

"Let's settle down for the night." Ash said as he pulled his hand away. "We'll get home quickly now we know where we are."

* * *

It was a week later that Ash had found himself at another landmark that he recognized. It was somewhere he had marked to commemorate a week away from Pallet Town. He had made excellent speed, having taken just a few weeks from when he had decided to go home before he reached it. A towering mountain loomed over his head, but the open area was a good place to camp. At the centre of the area was a towering tree, looking strangely lonely in the open ground. There was a deep scratch in the tree, in the shape of a cross. Underneath it were three crudely carved letters. A.S.K.

"We'll camp here tonight." Ash announced. His Pokémon looked at him in surprise as it was still relatively early afternoon and they usually travelled for much longer than this. Ash shrugged. "I just feel like there is something here. Get the camp set up and we'll do some training."

That night as they camped under the tree, Ash sat chatting to Espeon. The Sun Pokémon couldn't speak to him, but she seemed to enjoy the attention and Ash was growing steadily closer to her. He often tossed sticks into the air while they chatted and she would focus on keeping them up while she mewed back at him. On his other side sat Bayleaf, splayed out on the ground and asleep.

"Just one week until we get home." Ash said softly to Espeon who purred as he scratched behind her ears. "You'll meet my mother. You'll meet Professor Oak."

Ash chuckled softly.

"He'll want to study you. He always does. And maybe we'll see Pikachu again. He might have gone home."

Espeon nudged him with her head and Ash chuckled again. "Yes, we should get some sleep."

Ash stretched out, and Espeon curled up alongside him. Ash fell asleep, two of his Pokémon alongside him, the cool night air warmed by the flame on Charizard's tail. The Flame Pokémon had recovered from his battering at the hands of Staraptor, but had increased his training yet again. Ash knew he would wake up to find Charizard training by himself once again, determined never to be so overpowered again in his life. But for now, Charizard, like the rest of the team, slept.

A few hours later Ash awoke to the sound of a rustling. He jerked upright, causing Espeon to shift and awake herself.

"Es?" she asked quietly.

"Shh." Ash said, listening intently. He pointed at Charizard and Espeon sent a small Psychic jab to wake the Flame Pokémon.

In an instant, Charizard was on his feet, the flame on his tail throwing the area under the tree into sharp relief. Ash looked around to see a perfectly still campsite before listening intently again. He could still hear the rustling. A quick glance at the confused looks on Charizard and Espeon's face told him that he wasn't imagining it.

"Where…" Ash started before a slight movement caught his eye. His bag was shaking. "What the…"

He clambered to his feet, and strode towards it. As he picked it up, it wriggled before a small Pokémon launched itself out the top and crashed into his face.

"Whoa!" Ash cried as he fell backwards, the Pokémon on his chest. Instinctively he clutched at the Pokémon which was wriggling ferociously in his grasp. As clung on as his eyes focused on the wriggling Aron in his lap that was now trying to escape from his grip.

"What are you doing in there little guy?" Ash asked, but Aron wasn't interested in answering. With a final head butt he escaped Ash's grip and dived back into the bag, emerging a moment later with a tent peg in his mouth. Ash stared at him in disbelief. He had forgotten that he even still had the pegs, the tent having been lost after they had built the hut back in their old valley home. Aron ignored Ash as he started to chew on the slightly rusted pent peg, watched by the three bemused spectators.

"Aron, were you trying to take food?" Ash asked more gently. The small Pokémon looked up at him, mouth full of tent peg before nodding and turning back to his meal. Ash flopped back down onto the ground and let out a laugh. "You can take however much you want." Ash said, digging into his bag and pulling out another tent peg.

Aron looked back up to see another peg held out to him and he quickly claimed it, teeth digging in quickly. Ash chuckled again before reaching out and stroking the top of Aron's head. The small Pokémon froze for a moment before apparently deciding that petting was an acceptable trade for the best meal he had eaten in months. As he finished chewing through the two pegs he turned and started sniffing at Ash before nudging him more gently with his head.

"I think I've got some more." Ash said, reaching into his bag. His hand found another tent peg but as he pulled it out, something else fell out of his bag as well. Ash stared down at an empty Pokéball as it rolled around on the light still flooding the area from Charizard's tail. Aron nudged him again, trying to reach the peg that was still in Ash's hand. Ash passed it over before picking up the Pokéball and rolling it around his hands almost reverently.

"I forgot I still had a few of these." Ash murmured. He looked down at Aron who had apparently decided that half of the third peg would be enough for him for now. Aron looked up at Ash and nudged him a final time before turning to slink away. As Ash watched him go, he felt the words escape him without him even thinking.

"Do you want to join us?"

Aron stopped and turned to look back at Ash, considering him.

"We are training to become stronger." Ash said. "And we can feed you."

Aron didn't seem convinced so Ash turned to Espeon thinking quickly.

"And we can give you a home. Espeon was alone when she joined us. We are going to become the strongest we can be. We will be… the best."

Ash's voice trailed off as he spoke, realization striking home. He felt tears flood his eyes once again, turning away from Aron to hide them. He turned back when he felt something tugging on his trouser leg. At his feet, Aron was looking up at him, eyes bright. Espeon was stood next to Aron, her gaze full of understanding.

"You want to join?" Ash asked his voice thick with emotion.

Aron nodded. With shaking hands Ash offered a Pokéball to Aron who after a moment's hesitation nudged the button at the centre. He vanished inside the ball, disappearing from view. Ash picked it up and started at it in disbelief.

"I just caught an Aron."

* * *

Ash stood looking down on where Pallet Town was, his Pokémon around him. It had taken them a week to reach the area from when he had captured Aron, but Ash hadn't wanted to go straight into the town. Instead they had found a vantage point some distance from the town. It didn't give them a view of the town itself but for somebody who knew the area as well as Ash did, he recognised much of it. He could see part of the ranch attached to the Oak Laboratory, and he knew exactly where his house was.

"We can't go back."

Silence greeted Ash's words from the six Pokémon with him. Aron was perched in his favourite place on Ash's shoulder while Espeon and Bayleaf were stood on either side. Sceptile was stood a little to one side while Charizard and Snorlax towered over the group from behind. Ash turned to see all of them staring at him, waiting for the explanation that they knew would be forthcoming.

"We failed." Ash said quietly. "When we left, we had a plan. We failed, and I'd be going back a failure."

Espeon nudged at Ash's hand but he pulled away slightly. "You weren't there Espeon." He said sadly. "You don't understand why we left."

Espeon mewed in protest but Ash shook his head.

"You know why, but you don't understand."

Ash turned and looked back at the area in the distance where he knew Pallet Town was waiting for him.

"When I left Pallet Town five years ago, I wanted to be the best."

Ash's Pokémon listened intently as their trainer talked to the wind. It was almost as if he had forgotten that they were there. He was talking as if to himself, finally admitting things he had been putting off.

"I wanted to be the Pokémon Master." Ash continued, as the wind picked up, whipping his words away as he said them and ruffling his clothes. "I thought that if I pushed myself I could do it. It was all I ever wanted. But then we lost in Kanto. And again in Johto. And again in Hoenn. It starts to add up. So we pushed harder. We trained harder. We went into the Sinnoh tournament believing. We had done everything we could."

Ash turned to look at Espeon who was shocked to see tears running down her trainers face. On his shoulder Aron licked at them to try to comfort his new trainer, but it wasn't working.

"Do you know what happened?" Ash asked Espeon. The Sun Pokémon felt her heart break as she tried to answer but despite opening her mouth the sound refused to come.

"We suffered our worst defeat ever." Ash said, his voice cracking as he spoke. "We took out two of Tobias' Pokémon. And that was it. All our training, all our hard work and we got worse. And then the nightmares started."

Charizard jerked in surprise. Ash had never admitted the nightmares to him, and none of Ash's other Pokémon had told him. He growled slightly and Ash looked up at him.

"I couldn't sleep. All I could think about was the fact that we failed. And so we came out here to train. To ensure that it never happened again. And what happened? Almost all of our friends left."

Charizard felt the rage that he had been trying to supress bubble back up inside him. He knew that his master had been hurt by the departures, by the lack of loyalty but he hadn't known how badly. Unbidden the flame on his tail started to flare up and Sceptile stepped away from him nervously.

"So I can't go back." Ash said, his voice stronger even as the tears continued to flow. "I cannot go back to continue failing. We will go back one day, but we will do it as the strongest in the world. We will go home as the best"

Ash turned once again to look at his Pokémon, revealing his tear-streaked face filled with determination.

"Will you stand with me?" Ash asked softly. "You are all I have left. My family is gone, my friends all left. Will you follow me until we are finished? Will you stand by me till the end?"

This time there was no roar. Instead, his Pokémon buried him in an enveloping hug. At the bottom of it, Ash felt his heart lift. He still had friends. And he would fulfil his dream.

 **A/N**

 **And that concludes Ash's eventual departure from Pallet. The next couple of chapters will involve him finding a place in the world before we get into some of the other things that happened in the seven years. I'll try to get a few more of these out before Redemption really gets going as that will eat up any and all writing time I have. As for the trilogy ender, Redemption is currently planned to start in mid-March. It is still in the planning stage with not enough actually written to get released earlier.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Iama2p**


	6. Starting Again

Ash stood behind his Pokémon as attacks flew out from them. Around him swarmed bug Pokémon, hundreds of them charging forwards, surging through the forest. Above Ash a Yanmega hovered, wings whirring furiously as Yanmega saw his followers attack. In front of them, Ash saw his opponents begin to retreat and Yanmega moved forwards, the bug swarm advancing with him.

Since leaving Pallet Town behind them, Ash had searched for somewhere to train, somewhere peaceful where they could get stronger. Instead he had managed to find a warzone, where a huge number of Bug Pokémon were being attacked by Flying-types. Ash had first encountered the conflict when Aron pointed out the lightning storm in the distance. Ash's newest Pokémon had hoped that the amount of electricity drawn there meant a lot of scrap metal for him to eat. Instead they found a nest of Illumise and Volbeat's desperately holding off an attack by a flock of Murkrow. Ash had led his Pokémon straight into the fight, but before they could make much difference, Yanmega had appeared. The sight of the unusually large Pokémon had caused the Murkrow to scatter. Yanmega had made to move off after scaring the attackers, but his attention had been drawn to Ash and his team.

What had followed had been both terrifying and exhilarating. Yanmega had dropped down to face Ash, causing the Murkrow to return to try and attack once again. With huge speed, Yanmega had spun and raced into the sky, knocking out several Murkrow in as many seconds. The Murkrow fled again, this time for real, leaving Ash to face Yanmega by himself. By this point Ash had realised that he was facing a Pokémon of similar power to the Staraptor he had faced two months previously, a Pokémon that had flattened Charizard without even trying. Initially Ash thought that Yanmega was going to attack, but Bayleef and Espeon managed to convince him with motions that he wanted their help. Ash had flown up high with Charizard and seen Yanmega's territory. It had been filled with battling Pokémon, with flocks of Flying-Types assaulting nests of Bug Pokémon.

Eventually the message got across that Yanmega wanted Ash to help him defend his territory, but Ash refused. He explained that he was searching for somewhere to train, not somewhere to fight. Yanmega had nodded and flown off. Unsure whether he had permission to stay, Ash had decided to wait and see, ready to leave at a moments notice. It had been a few days later that Ash had been caught up in a bigger battle around his training area. The Murkrow were back, this time supported by a large group of Honchkrow. The Illumise and Volbeat had fled when they saw their attacks coming, but that hadn't stopped their enemies.

Ash had been watching his Pokémon go through battling training when he had heard the shrieks of pain. Moving quickly he brought his team to where the battle was raging. By the time he had arrived, the Volbeat and Illumise had been forced to defend their home since they couldn't flee. Once again, Ash led his Pokémon into the fray, distracting a large proportion of the group of Murkrow. The power in his Pokémon's attacks surprised him and they rapidly gained the upper hand over the small group that had attacked them. Ash started to drive the Murkrow and Honchkrow back before Yanmega arrived, whereupon the remaining Flying-types fled into the sky.

This time when Yanmega had proposed a deal, Ash had agreed. Ash promised to join Yanmega in throwing back the attacks on his territory in exchange for time to stay and train. It was how he found himself on the front line of the largest battle yet as Yanmega used his new allies to go on the offensive.

"Let's move forward" Ash ordered. His Pokémon advanced, keeping pace with Yanmega above them as their opponents retreated high into the sky, forming a giant spiral as they fought to protect each other in their retreat. Ash glanced up at Yanmega who flicked his head at the spiralling tower of Flying- Pokémon. Ash nodded grimly.

"Charizard, your most powerful attack. Bring that group down."

Charizard leapt into the sky, wings flapping powerfully. He surged ahead of the bug swarm and the flame on his tail started to grow hotter. Charizard threw his head backwards, the flames licking his neck before a huge torrent of fire erupted from his throat. There were squawks of fear as the attack rapidly overtook the fleeing birds and rapidly advanced into the sky, hitting more and more opponents. As Charizard let his attack rest, knocked out enemies started to fall from the sky, crashing down to the ground. The bug swarm halted slightly, all eyes on Charizard who let out a puff of smoke as he made his way back to his trainer.

"Charizard… wow." Ash said as Charizard re-joined him. "That… Was that a new attack?"

Charizard nodded.

"Okay." Ash said, swallowing hard. "We'll look at that later. Let's meet our promise first?"

Charizard let out an echoing roar that faded into a cacophony of hissing and clicking as the bug swarm responded. Up in the sky the Flying- Pokémon that had avoided Charizard's attack fled into the distance, desperate to escape the Flame Pokémon. Yanmega charged forwards, his followers advancing around him. In the distance was an echoing squawk of fury and the sound of beating wings.

"Charizard, get me into the air." Ash ordered. His Pokémon landed next to him and allowed Ash to climb onto his back. With powerful flaps of his wings, Charizard lifted into the air, giving Ash a better view of what was coming for them.

They had nearly reached the end of the forest, with open fields in front of them. Ash gave the terrain a cursory glance, seeing the hill in front of the horde of Pokémon, but his attention was focused onto the air. In the distance, advancing through the sky towards them was a large Delibird, flanked by several Fearow's. As Charizard hovered, Yanmega dropped down to fly alongside them, gesturing out to the incoming flock.

"We have to beat them?" Ash asked. Yanmega nodded. "And then we are done?" Another nod.

Ash turned his attention back to the incoming Pokémon. "I'm guessing they are significantly stronger?"

Yanmega nodded again, but Ash wasn't looking at him. He had already given an order to Charizard who was dropping back towards the rest of the group. Charizard landed and Ash slipped off his Pokémon's back.

"Move forwards." Ash ordered. "There is another group coming."

His Pokémon slipped into a job, advancing out of the forest and up the hill. As they reached the top, they saw their allies adopt positions around them. Ash's eyes flicked around as he noted the lack of cover for the bugs, before glancing into the air to see any of Yanmega's followers that could fly adopt defensive positions. Another glance forward caused Ash to draw breath in a sharp intake. The final wave of attackers was approaching very quickly.

Espeon nudged Ash's leg causing him to look down. She flicked her head towards the approaching group and then looked up at him balefully.

"They are coming straight for us Espeon." Ash said, not understanding. She nodded and nudged him again. "What's so hard about that? They are coming straight for us…"

Ash broke off as the realization hit him.

"They are coming straight towards a huge group of Pokémon. All of whom are waiting for them."

Espeon nodded.

"Which means that they must have a plan."

Espeon nodded again, the relief clear on her face. Ash thought fast before giving orders.

"Charizard, Snorlax, Sceptile, prepare your strongest attacks. Be ready to attack as soon as they are in range."

Above them, Yanmega was hissing orders to his followers, all of whom seemed to be waiting for something. As Delibird drew closer, Ash saw a small flicker of light in front of the advancing Delivery Pokémon.

Suddenly, without warning, an Ice Beam raced away from Delibird, covering the still large distance between the two groups of Pokémon in seconds. The attack swept through dozens of the ground Bug- Pokémon, freezing many of them solid and sending more flying backwards, knocked out.

Ash stood frozen in shock. He had never seen a Pokémon attack over such a distance with such ferocity. Ahead of him, Yanmega continued to hiss out orders and the bug swarm adjusted their positions, waiting as Delibird continued to advance.

"Get ready." Ash murmured to his Pokémon. "Nearly close enough. Aim all attacks at Delibird."

A moment later a larger, stronger Ice Beam raced away from Delibird, firing at the rest of Yanmega's ground followers.

"Now!" Ash shouted. "Aim for the Ice Beam!"

A stream of seeds raced from Sceptile, matched a split second later by a stream of fire erupting from Charizard's throat. In another heartbeat, Snorlax unleashed a Hyper Beam, all three attacks crashing into the incoming Ice Beam. Delibird's attack pushed through the competition but was deflected, avoiding all of the bugs and instead freezing a field more than a kilometre away.

Delibird squawked in surprise and flapped his wings, trying to slow down but he had come in range of Yanmega's followers. String Shots fired out from the dozens of remaining bugs on the ground, with more coming from the air. Delibird squawked again, this time in fear. Around him the Fearow's were snatched out of the sky as their wings were bound close to their bodies. The Fearow's started to fall from the sky as Delibird twisted and spun desperate to avoid the attacks. Ash watched in fascination as Delibird continued to evade the attacks as the final Fearow crashed into the ground. Now all of the defenders were focused on Delibird, causing the Delivery Pokémon to throw himself into ever more intricate evasive manoeuvres. Yanmega advanced with the other airborne Bug-Pokémon, surrounding Delibird who was finally starting to slow through tiredness. It only took one String Shot to hit, and Delibird was slowed further. More struck, completely encasing the Delivery Pokémon in the iconic Bug attack. Delibird fell from the sky, crashing into the ground. Yanmega stayed hovering over his fallen enemy, waiting.

There was a whistling noise and Yanmega darted to one side as a Blizzard attack raced up into the sky past Yanmega. Delibird soared back into the air, fury on his face as he faced down Yanmega. Attacks started to fly between them, with the other Pokémon around Ash joining in when they found a chance. When one attack got particularly close to Delibird, he responded with a devastating Ice Beam that sent more than thirty of Yanmega's followers plummeting to the ground, encased in blocks of ice.

As the fight wore on however, it was clear that Yanmega had the upper hand. Every time Delibird got on top, he was forced back by attacks from the other Bug Pokémon, while Yanmega had no such worries. Finally, with a scream of fury, Delibird retreated. A buzz came from the swarm of surviving Bugs.

"Was that… their version of a cheer?" Ash asked, slightly bemused.

There was a snorting sound from his side and Ash turned to see Sceptile twirling his twig in his hand, clearly trying to not look suspicious.

"Was it?" Ash asked again.

Sceptile nodded, deliberately not looking at his trainer.

"You know I can't understand Pokémon." Ash said, slightly snappily. You don't need to laugh about it."

Sceptile took a deep breath before looking at his trainer and nodded again. Ash nodded back to his Pokémon before turning back to see the battlefield in front of him. Yanmega was still hovering over the field whilst his followers turned and returned to the forest. Ash turned back his Pokémon in disbelief.

"They aren't even going to have the fields we just fought for?"

Sceptile shook his head, an action mirrored by Ash as he turned back once again. There was a buzzing noise as Yanmega raced towards Ash, before descending to hover just in front of the Pallet trainer.

"I guess we won." Ash said.

Yanmega nodded, before bowing his head slightly.

"Is that a thank you?" Ash asked.

Yanmega nodded again and the corners of Ash's mouth turned up.

"I guess I'm getting better at understanding you. You are welcome."

Yanmega let out a hissing noise that Ash could only assume that was his version of a laugh before focusing back on Ash intently.

"How long may we remain?" Ash asked.

Yanmega seemed to consider before descending to seize several stones from the ground. He placed them down in front of Ash who quickly counted.

"Four?"

Yanmega nodded, pleased that Ash had gotten it so quickly.

"Four… what?"

Yanmega's face fell slightly as he looked at Ash, willing the trainer to guess.

"Four… Weeks?"

Yanmega tilted his head up slightly.

"Months?"

A nod confirmed that this time he was right.

"Thank you." Ash said sincerely.

Another nod from Yanmega and then he was gone, vanishing at incredible speed back into the forest. Ash turned back to his Pokémon who had watched the exchange in silence.

"We will set up another hut on the edge of the forest. This time it will be large enough for all of us, a home we can stay in. And then the training restarts. We will make the most of the time we have here."

* * *

 _Two Months Later_

Ash spun, his fist flashing out towards Sceptile. The Forest Pokémon let it collide, taking the blow in silence before he swung his leg out. Ash jumped to avoid it but was caught by both of Sceptile's arms as they slammed him back into the ground. Ash lay in the dirt as Sceptile stood tall and proud above him. Bayleef bounded forwards, her vines extended to smack Sceptile around the back of the head as she made sure her trainer was okay.

"I'm fine Bayleef." Ash grunted as he struggled back to his feet. She looked at him dubiously as Sceptile fell back into a fighting stance, but Ash raised his hands. "No more Sceptile. That one hurt."

Sceptile smirked before mimicking the attack again, and Ash sighed.

"You'll always beat me Sceptile. You are quicker, stronger and more agile. Although I did like the combination that won that round."

Sceptile immediately repeated it on the air, his leg swinging even faster before he followed it up with a slam once again.

"Yes." Ash said simply. "Force them to jump then hit them whilst they can't dodge. We'll remember that one."

Their attention was distracted by the thundering crash. Ash spun to see Snorlax and Charizard both staggering away from a rapidly expanding dust cloud. A moment later he felt the shockwave from their two attacks wash over him, causing him to stagger backwards. Despite them being more than two hundred metres apart, the power from their attacks had clearly been sustained over that distance. Given that Ash himself was even further away, the fact that the shockwave was so strong when it reached him was even more impressive.

"Here we go again." Ash muttered as Charizard recovered first, leaping into the sky and firing another huge burst of flames. Snorlax eyed it up before his Ice Beam collided with Charizard's attack, causing another explosion. The second wave of force sent Charizard lurching backwards, his wings flapping furiously as he tried to regain his balance.

"He's done it again." Ash said quietly. At his side, Sceptile nodded in agreement. Charizard had consistently been taking to the air during battles, but this was causing him to be vulnerable to explosions. Snorlax by contrast had barely noticed the second, smaller shockwave and had Charizard on the defensive with a series of Ice Beams. As they watched, Charizard was forced to try and block another attack with a burst of flame, the resulting explosion buffeting him even further into the sky.

Ash gestured to Sceptile and the two of them advanced into the whirlwind of dust and smoke as the two heavyweights continued to exchange blows. Charizard had managed to retreat to a distance that enabled him to at least fend of Snorlax as the Sleeping Pokémon advanced on his opponent. As Ash and Sceptile drew closer, they could see the look of focus on Snorlax's face. He had taken to their new, tougher training regime with an enthusiasm that was hard to associate with the lazy Pokémon that Ash had known for years. He had joked to Snorlax that it was strange to see the same Pokémon that had once slept through a final in the Orange Islands was now focused on becoming so powerful. Snorlax had promptly eaten Ash's dinner that evening, making the human regret his attempted humour.

"Charizard, swoop in!" Ash bellowed, striving to make his voice heard over the sounds of the battle. Charizard furled his wings close to his body and dropped through the sky, diving underneath an Ice Beam, allowing him to advance on Snorlax.

"Follow it up with Blast Burn." Ash shouted as Snorlax gave him a dirty look.

Charizard's newest attack, learned in the battle with Delibird's flock fired out straight at Snorlax. The Sleeping Pokémon responded with a focused Hyper Beam that punched into the flames. Ash smiled as Charizard flapped his wings aggressively to launch himself above the smoke and dust once again. Although Charizard could be stubborn, he was learning how to compensate for his love of being in the air. And now with Snorlax blinded by smoke, Charizard had a chance to score a powerful hit.

Charizard tucked his wings in against his body once again and raced down, vanishing into the dust. There was an echoing crash as Charizard smashed into something in the dust cloud.

Sceptile glanced at Bayleef who had followed them out to watch the end of the battle, before meeting Ash's eye.

"Do it." Ash said quietly.

Sceptile swung his tail while Bayleef spun the leaf on her head around as they moved forwards, the wind they generated making the smoke disperse. Ash followed closely behind them, stopping with a slight smile on his face when he saw Charizard stood with his foot stomped firmly on the back of Snorlax's head, driving his opponent into the ground.

"Off Charizard." Ash said quietly.

Charizard gave a growl of disapproval but he did let Snorlax up. Ash's largest Pokémon rose back to his feet, glaring down at Ash, Sceptile and Bayleef.

"Don't be like that Snorlax." Ash said, slightly stiffly. "I've helped you in the past. We get stronger by competing with each other, yes, but also by helping each other."

Sceptile spoke, punching his chest before pointing at Ash. Snorlax listened carefully before letting out a rumbling chuckle.

"Yes, thank you Sceptile." Ash said. "I know you thrashed me earlier."

Sceptile smirked at Ash who just sighed. "Where are Espeon and Aron?"

Charizard gestured with a wing to the other side of the hill they had fought Delibird from. Ash looked at him in concern.

"All the way out there? They shouldn't be so far away. They are vulnerable when separate from us."

Charizard rolled his eyes showing what he thought of that assessment. Vulnerable was not a word that he liked.

"Let's go find them." Ash said, turning to stride out. As his team fell in behind him, he saw a purple cat leap over the top of the hill before bounding down towards him.

"Then again…" Ash continued. "They've found us."

Espeon continued to race forwards, causing Ash's eyes to narrow slightly.

"Something is wrong. Defensive positions."

In an instant Ash's team spread out, ready to fight. In the aftermath of the battle with Delibird, Ash had finally begun to realize how hostile wild Pokémon could be. He had drilled his team to be ready to fight against attacks, determined to be able to hold off most opponents without too much difficulty.

Espeon didn't slow down as she came closer and Ash looked beyond her to see what could have caused her to return so fast. The hill in front of him was stopping him from having a clear view of the terrain in front of him, but deep down he had a suspicion. A suspicion that was confirmed as Delibird shot over the hill, Ice Beam already firing down at his team.

"Block it." Ash shouted, but his Pokémon were already moving. Flames shot from Charizard, accompanied by a Bullet Seed from Sceptile and an Ice Beam from Snorlax. The four attacks collided in mid-air with an explosion that Delibird shot straight through before twisting in the air to attack again. Again, the defensive strikes shot out as Espeon skidded to a stop next to Ash, Aron dropping from where he had been desperately clinging onto her fur. Espeon immediately turned and fired a Psybeam up into the sky, the attack just missing the second explosion and causing Delibird to drop quickly to avoid it. Ash watched the smoke-filled sky with narrowed eyes. If anything was proof that his Pokémon had gotten stronger was the fact that they were managing to survive in the fight. Delibird was an incredibly powerful Pokémon, and even though it was five on one, Ash's team were just about managing.

"Where is he" Ash muttered, scanning the sky.

Delibird shot out of the smoke as it started to clear, using it as cover until the last possible moment. An Ice Beam attack was racing straight down towards them and for a moment Ash felt himself freeze with shock. Delibird was not aiming for his Pokémon. Ash was his target.

An echoing roar erupted from Charizard's throat as a torrent of flames fired out. The defensive strikes were once again enough to redirect Delibird's attack and as his own attack ended, Charizard leapt into the air.

"NO!" Ash shouted, loud enough for the Flame Pokémon to look down in shock and land. "Stay here." Ash barked as Delibird circled high above them, taunting Charizard.

Charizard growled in frustration but he remained on the ground.

"You can't beat him alone." Ash said warningly, his eyes never leaving their opponent as Delibird swooped through the sky without attacking. Charizard stomped at the ground but he didn't disagree.

Delibird tucked his wings in and dropped through the sky, moving blazingly fast. Charizard and Sceptile both fired attacks but they shot above their opponent who suddenly had a clear shot. The Ice Beam that fired out was fired quickly, a snapshot before Delibird shot away again to dodge Snorlax's incoming Hyper Beam, but it was enough. It shot through the defensive circle that Ash's Pokémon had created, slamming into Ash as he tried to get out of the way. The attack instantly froze the part of his arm that it hit, throwing Ash backwards and spinning him through the air. He slammed into the ground with a shout of pain, answered by a cry of triumph from Delibird who immediately attacked the group once again. Ash's Pokémon threw themselves into the defence, desperately attacking to keep Delibird at bay but none of them could reach their stricken trainer.

Delibird climbed back into the air, forced back by the onslaught from the ground before firing an Ice Beam directly into the next wave of strikes. The explosion filled the air with smoke once again, hiding Delibird from view.

Bayleef turned and tried to dash for Ash, but Charizard held out a wing, blocking her.

" _MOVE."_ Bayleef shouted at the larger Pokémon, her worry pushing her usual calmness to one side. Charizard ignored her before suddenly firing another burst of flames to divert an Ice Beam that shot at Ash through the smoke. Ash was slowly stirring on the ground but parts of his exposed skin were beginning to turn blue from the ice that had encased his upper arm. Bayleef tried to push past Charizards wing again but the Flame Pokémon continued to block her as Sceptile and Snorlax diverted another attack from Delibird.

" _Let me through!"_ Bayleef shouted in frustration as she pushed against Charizard, but he was unyielding. Bayleef gave up, stepping backwards when some movement caught her eye. Aron had darted forward, small enough not to draw fire from above as Delibird continued to attack. As the small Pokémon got close, he slammed his head into Ash's arm, breaking through the ice. With a triumphant snort, Aron slipped back towards Bayleef and nudged her.

Before Bayleef could ask what Aron wanted, Ash slowly pushed himself up to his knees, glaring up at the sky. Delibird shot forwards again, Ice Beam firing and Charizard finally lifted himself into the air, surging forwards to meet the Delivery Pokémon head on. Aron nudged Bayleef again, before gesturing up into the air with his head. Suddenly the Iron Armour Pokémons plan became clear to Bayleef and she extended a vine to grip him firmly. With a happy snort, Aron curled up into a ball as Bayleef took a stronger grip around him.

There was a roar from above as Charizard raced back towards the ground. Delibird had decided to change his target from Ash to the one Pokémon who had left the safety of the group and Charizard was outmatched. As the two came closer to the ground, Bayleef dug her feet into the ground and used her Vine Whip to sling Aron into the sky with a grunt of exertion. Charizard shot just past the Pokémon cannonball but Delibird didn't see Aron coming until too late. Bayleef's aim was true and Aron slammed into Delibird's stomach, causing the Delivery Pokémon to screech in pain and start to fall out of the sky. As Aron dropped, he suddenly glowed blue. Espeon was advancing and directing Aron towards Delibird who was just starting to regain balance in the air. Before Delibird could flee into the sky, Aron landed firmly on his back and Delibird suddenly found his wings not able to support the extra weight. With another screech, the two Pokémon fell out of the sky, slamming into the ground with an echoing crash.

"Ugh…"

Bayleef found her attention drawn to Ash who was staggering to his feet, rubbing at his arm and groaning. She raced to her trainer's side, vine extended to help him stand.

"Where is Delibird?" Ash asked, the pain evident in his voice.

Bayleef nodded towards a small crater in the ground where Aron had ridden their opponent to earth. Ash limped forwards, Bayleef supporting him. Beside them, Sceptile, Snorlax and Espeon surrounded Ash again as Charizard descended from the sky. Before they reached the crater, there was a blinding white light that erupted into the air. Ash tried to hurry forwards, but he stumbled, falling to one knee before pushing himself back up to continue forwards. When they reached the crater, Ash felt himself draw in a breath involuntarily as he looked down.

At the bottom of the crater, Delibird was struggling to climb out from underneath what looked like a large iron ball. Despite the fall, Delibird clearly had a lot of fight left, but the Delivery Pokémon was struggling to move the weight on top of him.

"Aron?" Ash asked uncertainly. The iron ball uncurled slightly and eyes appeared, before a face grinned up at Ash. The Pokémon that was trapping Delibird with pure weight was not Aron, but Ash recognized the expression on its face.

"I think Aron evolved." Ash said in disbelief. "Lairon?"

Lairon nodded, before smashing his tail down on Delibird who had nearly escaped out from underneath him. Delibird let out a dazed squawk, before trying to breath in to fire an attack,

"Lairon, get out of there!" Ash shouted, already turning away. When no attack was forthcoming, Ash looked back down to find Delibird struggling to get enough air in to his lungs to breath, let alone attack. Ash looked down and met the eye of the Delivery Pokémon who glared back up at him. Suddenly Delibird started to thrash about, unsettling Lairon who growled in shock as he found himself thrown out of the crater. Lairon landed on his feet and looked up to see Delibird climbing back into the air, a look of fury on his face as he glared down at the team of Pokémon that he couldn't overcome.

Before either side could move, there was a pair of loud booms echoing through the sky. Either side of Delibird, two Pidgeot appeared, decelerating from their dash to join their leader. The three Pokémon spiralled down, charging attacks before Delibird broke off with a squawk of alarm. In the aftermath of the two sonic booms from the Pidgeot's, there was a buzzing noise gaining in volume.

From the treeline behind Ash, erupted bug Pokémon, led by Yanmega. Delibird took one look before turning and accelerating away, disappearing over the hill into his own territory. As he vanished, Ash fell to the ground, and clutched his arm. Bayleef immediately turned her attention to her trainer, and Charizard came closer, wrapping his tail around the group. Charizard's iconic flame grew until the blue sheen from Ash's skin started to fade away. Ash nodded to Charizard gratefully before turning to look at Yanmega who had waited patiently for him to have treatment from his Pokémon.

"Thank you for coming to help us." Ash said. Yanmega nodded, before cocking his head questioningly.

"I'm don't know why he attacked us." Ash said. "But he was so strong. He nearly beat us."

Yanmega nodded again, before using his tail to gesture to the swarm of bugs that surrounded them.

"He's targeted you as well?" Ash asked.

Yanmega shook his head, before using his tail to point to Ash and then back at the swarm.

"I don't…" Ash started before realization sunk in. "You want us to join your swarm?"

Yanmega nodded.

"That… Is generous." Ash said. "But no. We can't."

Yanmega looked at Ash for a long moment before nodding slowly and sadly. He then gestured to the ground around them and pointed to Ash once again.

"We will leave if that is what you want." Ash offered, but Yanmega shook his head furiously. "You want us to stay?" A nod. "For longer?" Another nod.

Ash turned to look at his Pokémon who were all gazing at him with concern in their eyes. Despite driving Delibird away, it had been a tough fight and he could still feel the effects of the Ice Beam that had hit him. Despite the guardianship of Yanmega, they were not safe here.

"No." Ash said, coming to a decision. "I'm sorry, but it is time we moved on."

Surprise flitted across Yanmega's face, but he nodded. He turned his back on Ash before lifting into the air and heading into the forest once again. Within moments, the swarm had followed, vanishing from sight. Ash watched them go before turning back to his Pokémon.

"Seeing Delibird's allies gave me an idea." Ash said as he rubbed at the still cold parts of his arm. "I haven't seen Pidgeot in years."

Charizard suddenly stood up slightly taller as he realized what Ash was saying.

"He may not control territory like Delibird and Yanmega do, but he did once lead a flock." Ash said. "We will go to try to find him. And once we get there, we will have another new home where we can train."

Ash turned back to look at the campsite that had been their home for the past two months, decisiveness written across his features.

"Take the rest of the day off training. Gather food and pack up. Tomorrow morning, we head for Viridian Forest."


	7. The Guardian

Espeon padded to the edge of the tree line, looking towards the city. Being around a large human settlement brought back memories. Memories of a darker time in her life, a time when she was dealing with a far worse trainer than the one she had now. Espeon would never admit it to another member of the team, but the last few months had been some of the happiest in her life. Her trainer was struggling but she had finally found a family to belong to. Sometimes she felt bad; Ash had rescued her from a man who didn't care for her. Her life would have been completely different, had she even survived escaping Eric. She should feel sadder given his personal struggles, but she was freer than she had ever been.

There was movement off to one side and Espeon immediately sent her mind out. It was an aspect of her Psychic abilities that she wanted to explore now she was evolved. She had gained in strength ever since she had joined Ash but she had spent a lot of the time since her evolution working on increasing the power in her Psychic attacks. The mental aspect, the focus needed to maintain her attacks, she was keen to train it. To become stronger. And having seen Ash train his Pokémon, the way he had come up with different strategies on pure instinct had honed her interest. She was eager to find out what he would be able to come up with. She suspected that her abilities would give her an edge over her opponents if she could just work out how to harness their full power. Espeon relaxed slightly as she felt Sceptile and Lairon approach.

" _How much longer will he be?"_ Espeon asked as Sceptile drew closer.

" _I have no way of knowing. He will not stay in the city for long though."_

" _I wish he hadn't gone in at all,"_ Lairon said. " _Why does he need to?"_

Sceptile raised an eyebrow as he gazed down at the Iron Armor Pokémon.

" _He needs human contact."_

" _Are we not enough?"_ Espeon asked. " _He talks to us all the time."_

" _And he can't understand our responses,"_ Sceptile said sagely. " _I'm sure being able to talk to other humans and have a proper conversation will help him."_

Espeon and Lairon shared an uncertain glance as Sceptile stood between them, eyeing the city.

" _Maybe he'll get some new clothes as well,"_ Sceptile said thoughtfully.

" _Why?"_ Lairon asked.

Sceptile gave him a pitying look. " _Because if we were to ever meet another human on our travels, I'm sure he would like to be clothed. And he is running through his clothes ever since somebody started to ride on his shoulder with sharp claws."_

" _It is a comfortable position!"_ Lairon protested. " _And I don't still do it! I'm too big now."_

" _You were too big before,"_ Sceptile said stiffly. " _You may be a small Pokémon, but you were still too heavy for him."_

" _He never complained."_ Lairon protested. " _Humans complain if we do something they don't like."_

" _He isn't like most humans,"_ Sceptile answered. " _Spend enough time with him and you'll realise that. Nothing is too much for him. Anything that we want, he will do if possible. Remember that and don't ask too much of him. He cannot deny us anything."_

Lairon looked down slightly, clearly processing Sceptile's words.

" _Why?"_ Espeon asked. " _Why is he like that?"_

Sceptile shrugged. " _It is just what he is like. He puts us above his own health."_ Sceptile turned back to Lairon. " _Take you riding on his shoulder. You are a huge weight for a human to carry, yet he did it without complaining. He could easily have injured himself doing so, but he did it anyway. That is what he is like, and that is what we have to remember."_

Lairon nodded sheepishly. " _I'll try."_

There was a moment's silence between the group before Espeon glanced up at Sceptile. " _Why do I get the impression that you chose to stay out here with us?"_

Sceptile smirked down at Espeon. " _Smart. And yes, I agreed with the others to explain this to you."_

Espeon turned back to the city and sighed slightly. She hadn't expected it to be this hard to be near humanity again. Somehow Ash never seemed to count in her mind.

" _Come. Let us return to the campsite."_ Sceptile said. Espeon looked around and saw the Forest Pokémon looking at her, concern on his face.

" _I… Okay._ "Espeon conceded, turning and padding back into the woods once again, leaving Sceptile and Lairon to follow her. She knew that Sceptile was curious as to why she didn't enjoy being near the city, but he wouldn't ask. As a team, they each had secrets and they respected each other enough to keep them. She would wait for Ash to come back and lead them on. And then she would hopefully leave the city behind her and return to the wilderness that she infinitely preferred.

* * *

Ash stood in the middle of the pavement, looking around. It had been some time since he had seen another human. Months in fact. The only human contact he had had since he had left home had tried to kill him. Viridian City felt a lot bigger than he remembered, the buildings making him feel small. Compared to the hut he had lived in whilst they lived in Yanmega's… Well, Ash didn't know entirely what the situation was out where they had been. Yanmega was clearly a very powerful Pokémon, but there was something that Ash couldn't put his finger on. He still remembered the ferocity of the fight between Yanmega and Delibird, at a level above anything Ash had ever seen before. The attacks had been fired so fast and had such devastating power. It was a sobering thought as to how much further they had to go as a team.

Ash felt somebody brush against him and he instinctively turned. He scanned the street but the figure was gone, vanishing into the bustling crowd. Ash turned again and looked up at the building in front of him. He recognized it as a large, branded department store. 'Trainers Home'. The majority of their items were cheap but durable, making them popular among travelling trainers. Ash didn't have much money and he didn't know when he would next get a chance to come back into the city. Cheap and strong was perfect.

Ash moved forwards, his head down as he slipped through the door. As he looked up inside, it was rapidly apparent that he had managed to come in on a quiet day. The shop floor was almost deserted, just a few customers wandering around. He stood in the doorway and searched with his eyes, looking for the sections he wanted.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to the Trainers Home." Came a voice. Ash spun to see a teenager, not much older than himself approaching. He was wearing a shirt with the store logo splashed across the front and a name tag which proudly displayed the name Richard. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Ash said, looking at him. "I need some gear for a long trip."

"Well, you've come to the right... woah." Richard said, his enthusiastic voice breaking off as he looked at Ash's eyes. "What happened to your eyes?"

Ash looked at him, and the smile slid off the store attendants face. "I'm sorry," Richard said. "I shouldn't have asked that." He coughed slightly before turning to look into the store. "What are you looking for?"

"I need Pokéballs," Ash said. "I'm running low. Some medical supplies as well." Ash looked down at his clothes before a shadow flitted across his face. "I could use some clothes as well."

"Of course," Richard said, his enthusiastic personality reasserting itself over his face. "We'll start with the Pokéballs?"

Ash let himself be led into the store, following Richard as the older teenager chatted away.

"So here you are," Richard said, stopping in front of a wall of Pokéballs. "Are there any kind in particular?"

"Just normal Pokéballs will be fine," Ash said slightly tersely. "Just a few as well."

Richard grabbed a small box from underneath the display and opened it to show Ash. Six Pokéballs lay inside, the metal gleaming. Ash nodded, and turned, leaving Richard to carry the Pokéballs along with him as he led Ash towards a large section filled with potions and other medical supplies.

"We have a full selection of medical supplies." Richard started as they stood between two stands, one displaying bandages and the other antidotes. "What kind of supplies are you looking for?"

Ash turned slowly, looking around the section with a thoughtful expression. "Bandages definitely. I'll also take a couple of antidotes."

Richard blinked in surprise as Ash seemed to suddenly have gained new energy. He watched the trainer move through the displays, selecting items that he wanted and holding them in his arms. After a few minutes, Ash returned to Richard who plucked a basket from a pile and wordlessly held it out. Before Ash took it, a Pokémon appeared next to him, released from a Pokéball.

"Bayleef," Ash said with a smile. He placed all the items on the ground in front of the Pokémon before turning to Richard.

"I'll take the basket."

Richard handed it over as he tried to work out what was going on. In front of him, Bayleef used her vines to pick up each item individually. She considered each one in turn before either placing it in the basket or handing it back to Ash. As she reached the end of the pile she pawed at the ground slightly before looking up at Ash thoughtfully.

"I know, we didn't get anything for status effects other than poison," Ash said. "We shouldn't need them."

Bayleef looked at him with her head cocked to one side slightly. She spoke quietly, the tone making it clear what she thought of that. Ash chuckled, a low sound.

"We may find that we have these problems," Ash said, arguing with his Pokémon. "But we are going out to be self-sufficient. We'll use natural remedies if necessary and learn to dodge better."

Bayleef considered his words before nodding. Ash knelt next to her and stroked her flank with his spare hand, before reaching down to his belt and lifting her Pokéball. A moment later she vanished inside and Ash rose to his feet to turn back to a speechless Richard.

"What should I do with these?" Ash asked, gesturing to the supplies that Bayleef had rejected.

"I… I'll take them," Richard said. Ash handed them over and Richard grabbed another basket, putting the unwanted things inside and slipping away to pass the basket over to a colleague. When he returned a few moments later he found Ash waiting patiently.

"I'm sorry, I have to ask," Richard said as he picked up Ash's basket and put the Pokéballs on top of the pile inside. "You let your Pokémon choose what you need?"

Ash just tilted his head slightly. "They know what we need just as well as I do. And Bayleef knows what we can get naturally. We will only buy what we need, and if she approves it."

"Wow," Richard said, meaning it. "That is… impressive. Are you going on a long trip?"

A shadow flitted across Ash's face. "Probably."

"You don't know?" Richard asked as he started to lead Ash towards the clothing section of the store.

Ash shrugged noncommittally. "Not really. We're going a short distance after we leave Viridian but after that, I don't know. We might come back, we might travel further."

"Do you not have a family at home?" Richard asked and immediately regretted it. A dark look crossed Ash's face and he turned away as they arrived at the section of the store dedicated to trainers clothing. Ash ignored Richard as he tried to talk about the selection, moving away and making his selections as he slowly edged through the section.

He returned to Richard a few minutes later, his arms laden with clothes and wordlessly passed them to the store clerk.

"Is that everything?" Richard asked, trying to break the silence that had broken out between them.

Ash nodded, and strode away, heading for the store checkout, leaving Richard trailing after him.

A few minutes later, Richard tried to broker conversation once again as he scanned the items at the checkout for Ash.

"I'm sorry." Richard started. Ash looked up from where was watching his hand root around in his pocket to meet the older teenagers eye.

"Sorry?" Ash asked.

"Yes," Richard said. "I'm sorry that I asked about your family."

Ash met his eyes, the eagerness for stories in Richard's gaze matched by a darkness in Ash's.

"It's okay," Ash said eventually. "You weren't to know that you shouldn't ask."

"So where are you going?" Richard asked, now piling clothes into a bag for Ash to carry.

"Near Viridian Forest," Ash answered vaguely. Richard's face fell.

"Come on, you can't give me better than that?"

Ash smiled slightly, just the corners of his mouth turning up as he drew out a wallet from his pocket and pulled out most of the money inside.

"I'm looking for an old friend near there." He said. "He should still be nearby, but I don't know for certain."

Richard accepted the money, handing the bag over to Ash.

"Well, good luck. And if you ever come back, please come back here. I want to hear how it goes."

Ash inclined his head. "Thank you. And maybe I will do that one day."

Ash strode out of the store, only a tiny amount of guilt on his mind. He had no intention of coming back to share stories or anything else. But he had once told his friends similar to Richard, and it felt much easier to mislead somebody who he had only just met.

* * *

Ash strode back into the campsite, to be met by Espeon and Lairon waiting for him. Sceptile was stood to one side, a slight smirk on his face as the two Pokémon rubbed themselves against his legs in greeting.

Ash laughed, a much stronger and more vibrant sound than any he had let off whilst in the city.

"I was only gone for a couple of hours!" Ash protested as he petted the two Pokémon. "You can't have missed me that much!"

Espeon flicked her tail up, catching Ash in the face before looking at him challengingly. Ash laughed again and stood up, taking in the campsite. Around him, the Pokémon that had travelled into the city released themselves from their Pokéballs and stood watching their trainer.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ash asked. "Let's pack up and get moving. We need to find Pidgeot.

* * *

Ash hiked across the hills, stumbling over a couple of rocks that sat next to a waterfall. He looked down at it, trying to work out if it was the same waterfall that he had once leapt over trying to protect Pikachu, but eventually decided that it was not. That one had been closer to the route between Pallet Town and Viridian City, and Ash was nowhere near it now. He sat down at the top of it anyway, watching the spray fly into the air. Around him, his Pokémon tiredly took a well-needed rest.

"We'll camp here tonight," Ash announced, drawing relieved noises from his Pokémon. "We'll continue our search in the morning."

Charizard raised himself back to his feet as Ash started to push himself up to collect firewood for the evening. A quiet grunt from the Flame Pokémon was enough to keep him seated as Charizard moved to a tree and felled it with a single wing. He dragged it back towards Ash and placed it in front of Sceptile who's Leaf Blade was able to quickly cut it into small logs. As each log was cut away, it was caught by Espeon's Psychic which placed them into a pile ready for the fire. To complete the process, Charizard let out a small snort of flame, lighting Espeon's pile.

Ash watched with an amused expression on his face. "I guess you have that under control then."

Charizard looked back and smirked. Ash busied himself with producing dinner for the evening, but as he worked the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Despite looking around several times and finding nothing, Ash couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him. None of his Pokémon seemed to notice and when Ash laid down for the evening, the fire beginning to burn lower and the sound of the waterfall in the background, he tried to ignore what he might have heard.

Wakefulness returned to Ash in a rush, causing him to attempt to leap to his feet. The sleeping bag that he was wrapped in caught around his waist and Ash crashed to the ground with a yell of pain. Around him his Pokémon surged to their feet, racing to defend their trainer, who was fighting to free himself.

Once he had done so, Ash looked up to see a flock of Flying- Pokémon hovering in the air over his campsite, all looking at him intently.

"This is getting old," Ash said under his breath. "Why is it that these Pokémon always come after us?"

The answer came to Ash a moment later. Humans did not frequent this area. Pokémon considered it to be their territory and he was encroaching. As his Pokémon closed ranks around him, Ash's eyes darted around the flock, looking for a weakness.

A deafening squawk split the night air, echoing off the trees and mixing with the sound of the nearby water. Ash looked up to see a huge Pidgeot descending from the sky. The flock made way for their leader, and Ash took a step backwards in awe.

Pidgeot landed with barely a hint of noise, larger than Charizard as he towered over Ash, an expression of anger on his feathered face. Ash met the Pokémon's eyes, squashing his fear down. For a long moment, Ash thought Pidgeot was going to attack, but the face softened. Pidgeot stepped forwards, his wings extended as he peered more closely at Ash's face.

"Pidgeot?" Ash asked uncertainly. "Are you my Pidgeot?"

Pidgeot let out a squawk of disbelief and launched forwards, faster than any of Ash's Pokémon could react to. Wings closed around Ash, drawing him into the birds feathery embrace. Ash returned the hug gingerly, feeling his ribs creaking with unhappiness from the treatment they were getting from Pidgeot.

After several moments Ash found himself deposited on the ground, with a face beaming radiant happiness down at him as Pidgeot reared up and squawked loudly. Pokémon around them shot away, leaving Ash with only his Pokémon and one of his oldest friends for company.

Pidgeot came back down and looked down at Ash, his head tilted questioningly.

"You want to know why I'm here?" Ash asked. Pidgeot nodded. "I'm not here to capture you. You seem to have responsibilities here now."

Pidgeot puffed his chest out with pride at Ash's words. Ash smiled slightly, having left Pidgeot to be the Guardian of Viridian Forest, it appeared that his old friend had gone a bit further and gotten even stronger.

"You control this area," Ash said. It wasn't a question, but Pidgeot nodded anyway. "I had hoped you might."

Pidgeot looked back down at Ash, a confused look on his face. Ash looked up at him, the darkness in one of his eyes now completely obvious. The bird then gestured to the few Pokémon who still surrounded Ash, watching the exchange attentively.

"Yes," Ash said heavily. "My team is drastically reduced in size. They left me some time ago."

Pidgeot gestured to himself, but Ash shook his head.

"No Pidgeot, not like you did. They left me because we wanted to train to get stronger and the training was too intense."

Ash met his old Pokémon's eyes, with an intense gaze of his own. "But I haven't given up. I need somewhere to train, somewhere away from humans, and away from Pokémon who are fighting. May I use your territory?"

Pidgeot's face lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically. Ash smiled up at his former Pokémon. "Thank you Pidgeot." He said quietly. "We will make the most of this opportunity."

 **A/N**

 **As one reviewer put it… "Pidgeot's coming back!" And back he is, at least for now. There will be some bigger time skips than I've had thus far as Ash training for months at a time isn't the most exciting thing to read about. They will also often reference things that have been mentioned or covered in the stories. For example, this chapter contains a lot of references to the first time that Ash met Eric, Espeon's former trainer. It is a story covered in 'The Lost Master', in chapter eleven. I'll usually just mark where I've taken it from in a note at the bottom so people can find it if they choose.**

 **This is also the end of the initial arc of Missing Years, and it only took me fourteen months! Ash has left Pallet, been abandoned by his Pokémon, and started to lose the ability to relate to humans as he once did. Now he has settled with Pidgeot, he can continue to grow as a trainer, the transformation into Champion is underway. This is also a convenient time for me to turn my attention away from this, focusing more on Redemption. I'm unsure when the next chapter here will be as Redemption is my main focus for the foreseeable future, but there is more to come from this at some point in the future.**

 **On that note, Redemption will be coming out on Friday. Hopefully the wait hasn't been too long for anybody!**

 **Iama2p**


End file.
